The cryptocurrency markets made a bearish pivot on Wednesday, plunging nine of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies into negative territory. The ripple price bore the brunt of the blow and fell 20 percent to sink below the $2 mark, but the damage was not isolated to XRP. Ethereum, meanwhile, continued to advance toward record highs in spite of the poor performance of the wider markets. Altogether, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies shed more than $28 billion, a four percent decline that reduced the cryptocurrency market cap to $700.3 billion. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin Price Drops Below $14,000The bitcoin price posted yet another disappointing return following its weekend surge to $17,252, declining six percent to $13,789 on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. At present, bitcoin’s global average is holding just above $14,000, which translates into a market cap of $235.4 billion.24-Hour Bitcoin Price ChartEthereum Price Continues to Float in a Heavy MarketThe ethereum price continued its nearly weeklong trend of posting moderate increases as the wider markets tumble, and the second largest cryptocurrency briefly surpassed the $1,400 mark on several major exchanges. At present, ethereum is trading at $1,281 on Bitfinex, which constitutes a daily gain of six percent and places ethereum’s market cap at $125.6 billion.24-Hour Ethereum Price ChartRipple Price Plunges 20 PercentRipple’s XRP, however, was not so lucky. The ripple price plunged by 20 percent on Wednesday, which was worst among top 10-cryptocurrencies. On Bittrex, the ripple price careened to a present value of $1.89, which was equivalent to its global average (excluding South Korea). Ripple now has a market cap of just $73.3 billion, placing it more than $50 billion behind ethereum in the race to achieve the second largest cryptocurrency valuation.24-Hour Ripple Price ChartTop Altcoins Engage in Near-Comprehensive RetreatAlthough ripple’s 20 percent decline was most severe among top-tier coins, its poor performance was far from an isolated concurrence. Apart from ethereum, every top 10-cryptocurrency returned a single-day decline, and several saw their prices fall by double-digit percentages. The bitcoin cash price weathered the storm better than most, declining just one percent to $2,346. The cardano price, however, dove by 15 percent, which was second-worst among top 10-coins. Litecoin managed to stop the bleeding at four percent, which enabled it to wrestle the fifth spot in the rankings away from NEM, whose price dropped by 13 percent. Stellar, ranked eighth, was unable to capitalize on NEM’s misfortune because its price declined by 14 percent to $0.53. IOTA and EOS did not do much better, falling six percent and five percent to bring their prices to respective values of $3.41 and $8.71. Dash, meanwhile, declined by four percent but successfully held its price above the psychologically-significant $1,000 mark. Featured image from Shutterstock