Evergrande Is Impacting Everything, Including the Crypto Market

As if fears of an economic crash in China weren't enough, the Evergrande debt debacle is impacting cryptocurrency values too. Many crypto investors are becoming liquid in the hopes of avoiding losses if (or, some experts say, when) Evergrande defaults or goes bankrupt.

Here's how Bitcoin is responding to the Evergrande news, and how other coins are taking a hit as well.

With fear about Evergrande potentially defaulting on its $300 billion in debt, investors in Bitcoin sold off hard and fast. The volatility brought the coin down as much as 16.6 percent to under $41,000. The pattern, which started on Sept. 15, is continuing (albeit not as rapidly).

Bitcoin has gained some strength since the major sell-off, but the recovery is comparatively mild. The coin is up 5.2 percent since shortly after midnight on Sept. 21. That isn't enough to make up for what the coin lost over the last week (or the last 24 hours, in which Bitcoin is down 3.25 percent), but people are still giving the digital asset the benefit of the doubt.

Bitcoin has lost 18.3 percent since Sept. 6, but it's still up for the year by 313 percent. The Evergrande struggle has given a good shake to various markets, crypto included. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indices are both down for the week, with Evergrande hitting hard amid the late-September sell-off.

As of 12:45 p.m. ET on Sept. 21, Bitcoin is valued at $42,674. That volatility speaks volumes for a coin that once topped $60,000 in April.

Bitcoin isn't the only cryptocurrency struggling amid Evergrande's plotline. As the property developer scrambles for solutions, altcoins like Ethereum and Dogecoin have unwittingly joined the bear market.

Ether's value is down 9.42 percent over the last week, with 4.13 percent of that coming in the last 24 hours. Despite these losses, Ethereum retains its major growth over the last year with a 774 percent lead.

Dogecoin is down 11.74 percent in the last week, with 2.06 percent of that occurring in the last 24 hours. Like its relatives, Dogecoin has swelled over the last year despite a staunchly pennied coin price.

The sell-off that's occurring in the crypto market right now is out of fear of what's to come for Evergrande, China's economy, and the globalized world.

Shortly after the government allowed investment firm Lehman to file for bankruptcy in 2008, the U.S. economy and stock market crashed. Cryptocurrency wasn't around then, but fears of a ripple impact are already rumbling. It isn't clear how crypto would be impacted in that scenario, but the highly volatile asset has clear potential to protect investors and soar to new heights—or pose an additional risk and plummet.

Until we find out what happens to Evergrande, there will likely be tentative uncertainty in the international markets, including globalized, decentralized cryptocurrency.