London— Turmoil engulfed crypto-currency markets again on Tuesday, with every major coin extending a rout that is rocking confidence in the nascent asset class. Bitcoin gave up a small early gain to slump 7.9% as of 9.16am in London. The largest digital currency, which started the year at more than $14,000, has fallen to $4,409.43. Rivals including ether, litecoin and XRP joined the slide, though they pared losses that reached as much as 17%. After months of relative stability, crypto-currency bulls have been left reeling by a sudden market downturn in November. Digital assets have now lost almost $700bn of market value since crypto-mania peaked in January, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Trading on futures markets, where investors can bet against bitcoin, has soared. While the trigger for the latest sell-off is unclear, it has coincided with a “hard fork” of Bitcoin Cash. The move, which split the offshoot of the original bitcoin into two, has underscored the sometimes chaotic natu...

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