Bitcoin rebounds slightly after falling to $17K, lowest in 2 years

The price of Bitcoin rebounded slightly after falling to around $17,000 on Tuesday, its lowest level in almost two years, while the value of the cryptocurrency market lost more than 11% in a single day.

The world's largest crypto by market size saw its price hit $17,167 at 2.33 p.m. EDT -- its lowest level since Nov. 28, 2020, according to official figures.

It was trading around $18,200 for a massive 12.3% daily loss at 2.40 p.m.

Ethereum, the world's biggest altcoin by market value, dove to $1,233 before rebounding. But it recovered to $1,313, recording a whopping 18% daily decline.

The value of the cryptocurrency market stood at just above $895 billion at the time for a daily loss of more than 11%, according to data from the digital asset price-tracking website CoinMarketCap.

Some altcoins saw their price plummet as much as 30% for the day.

The sudden sell-off came after crypto exchange firm FTX asked for the help of rival, Binance, because of liquidity issues, which highlighted the fragile nature of the crypto market and instigated fears of its vulnerability.

Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, intends to buy FTX after due diligence.