Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser to Allianz, says the recent slump in bitcoin’s price is a sign that the cryptocurrency has become “more volatile and more sensitive” to tweets posted by Elon Musk, the Tesla boss whose company has a large holding in the cryptocurrency.

El-Erian said that three main groups of holders have pushed up the price of bitcoin over the past five months: those that believe it will evolve into a global currency; those who see it being accepted in the private sector as a form of payment; and short-term speculators.