Cryptocurrency prices have crashed by £819billion in a month, with some households losing their life savings as a result.
The main cryptocurrency, Bitcoin , has fallen in price by 12% in the last 24 hours to around £22,100 per coin.
But bigger falls have hit smaller cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, which has dropped 22% in the same period.
Cryptocurrency prices are falling as investors get spooked by allegedly 'safe' coins underperforming, and sell up in panic.
Around 13% of cryptocurrency cash is in so-called stablecoins, which are linked, or 'pegged', to major currencies like the dollar.
This makes them seem like a predictable safe haven compared to other cryptocurrencies, which can rise or fall in price very quickly .
But this week a 'stablecoin' called terraUSD, meant to rise or fall in line with the US dollar, actually fell in value much faster.
A coin linked to terraUSD, Luna, then dropped in value by a staggering 99%.
This triggered panic in the cryptocurrency markets, already rocked by stalling stock markets, rising inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Some crypto investors have lost all their savings as a result.
On social media platform Reddit, one user posted: "I lost all my life savings. Had bought Luna at $85, not sure what to do.”
Another poster said: "My friend and ex-colleague (my manager for 15 years) tried to commit suicide this morning. He basically moved all of his savings to crypto in 2021 and Luna was a massive player in his portfolio."
Sam Kopelman, UK manager of crypto exchange Luno, said: "Stablecoins now represent four of the ten largest cryptocurrencies measure by market cap, illustrating the state of the market, with crypto owners often actively seeking refuge in stablecoins.
"That said, the market spun out of control over the weekend when a surge in the stablecoin terraUST supply caused the price of the token to tumble from its height, feeding the crypto-related uncertainty and further contaminating the market."
Kopelman said if the crypto trend continues it could turn into a "long-term bear market" - investment slang for a period of falling prices.
What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies?
Cryptocurrency is not regulated in the UK, unlike most other financial products.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog does monitor crypto, but only to prevent money laundering or funding terrorism.
That means if you put money into anything to do with crypto and the company fails or is defrauded you will probably never see it again.
The FCA this week issued a warning to consumers about the "very high risks" of investing in crypto, especially trendy non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The City regulator said it was concerned about social media posts pushing investments linked to NFTs, and said this involves taking very high risks with investors’ cash.
Many other financial deals are regulated by the FCA, meaning your money is protected up to £85,000 if the company goes bust or your money is stolen somehow.
This is thanks to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), a fund financial firms pay in to.
You can check on the FCA or FSCS websites to see if a company you are interested in is regulated and safe to deal with.
