Explained: Will crypto sell-off be contagious to other financial systems?

Cryptocurrencies fought to find a footing on Monday after even weekend cheerleading from Tesla boss Elon Musk seemed unable to offset selling pressure from spooked investors or nerves stemming from a gathering crackdown on the asset class in China.

Bitcoin climbed as high as $35,970 from Sunday's trough at $31,107, but the growing sense of a shakeout flowing through the frothy market left it struggling to make further gains and it remains some 45 percent below last month's record peak of $64.895.

Now, the cryptocurrency market has a huge asset size and when a large asset size gets shrunk and compressed by half in 10 days flat, there ought to be repercussions in other parts of the financial system - stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, etc.