Bitcoin briefly fell below $2,000 for the first time in two months amid anxiety its dominant status is under threat.
As enthusiasts consider adopting two competing software updates, raising the possibility that bitcoin will split, it’s lost about a third of its value since attaining a peak of just below $3,000 on June 12. Calls for a revamp of the cryptocurrency come as exchanges have struggled to keep up with rising volumes. 
Bitcoin fell 5.2 percent to trade at $2,046.4901 at 6:21 a.m. in New York, its lowest level since May 19 on a closing basis. It earlier dropped as much as 14 percent.
Smaller rival ethereum has plunged by more than half since its June 14 peak, according to prices compiled by coinmarketcap.com.