Bitcoin slipped below $6,000 on Tuesday to its lowest in six weeks in a move echoed by other major cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin fell as much as 6 per cent to a low of $5,880, its weakest since June 29, according to Reuters data based on the Bitstamp exchange. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation tumbled 16.9 per cent to $266.32, according to coinmarketcap.com.

Tuesday’s fall brings bitcoin to within striking distance of its 2018 low of $5,774.72, which it hit on June 29. The digital currency traded at a high of $17,234.99 in January.

The cryptocurrency was dealt a blow last week after the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it would delay its decision on a bitcoin ETF.

As the blow continues its impact on buyers’s confidence in the market, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered regulators to rule out feasible measures to properly deal with the sudden incident in a bid to boost a sound development in the exchange institutions.