KOMPAS.com - Setelah sempat mendekati kisaran 20.000 dollar AS per keping pada Desember lalu, pekan ini nilai mata uang virtual Bitcoin tercatat sempat mengalami penurunan hingga di bawah 10.000 dollar AS.
Pada Selasa (16/1/2018) sore, sekitar pukul 17.30 waktu timur Amerika Serikat, bursa Coinbase memperdagangkan Bitcoin dengan nilai 9,969 dollar AS, sementara Bittrex di angka 9.450 dollar AS.
Bitcoin bukan satu-satunya mata uang virtual yang nilainya terpangkas. Situs CoinMarketCap mencatat 20 cyrptocurrency teratas semuanya mengalami penurunan sebesar dua digit dalam 24 jam terakhir.
Selama periode tersebut, nilai Bitcoin turun 17 persen, dan Ethereum sempat turun 19 persen sehingga sempat menyentuh nilai 854 dollar AS sebelum naik kembali ke kisaran 1.000 dollar AS.
Sementara, Ripple yang merupakan mata uang virtual terbesar ketiga dari aspek kapitalisasi pasar, mengalami penuruanan tajam sebesar 46 persen menjadi hampir 90 sen, sebelum kembali ke angka 1.18 dollar AS.
Penurunan nilai mata uang-mata uang virtual ini diduga berkaitan dengan rencana pengetatan aturan soal cryptocurrency di sejumlah negara di Asia.
Sebagaimana dirangkum KompasTekno dari CNBC, Rabu (17/1/2018), Korea Selatan berencana membuat undang-undang yang melarang perdagangan cryptocurrency. Sementara, China disinyalir akan memblokir akses ke platform cryptocurrency dalam dan luar negeri.
Nilai Bitcoin kini telah kembali naik ke kisaran 11.000 dollar AS per keping di bursa Coinbase dan Bittrex. Angka tersebut terpaut jauh dari nilai puncak di kisaran 19.800 dollar AS per keping yang tercatat pada pertengahan Desember lalu.
Baca juga : Kisah Bitcoin Senilai Rp 1 Triliun yang Terbuang ke Tempat Sampah
Bitcoin could hit $100,000 in 2018, an analyst who correctly predicted the cryptocurrency's rally at the start of last year told CNBC on Tuesday.
Kay Van-Petersen, an analyst at Saxo Bank, added that other rival digital coins could also outperform.
Van-Petersen forecast in December 2016 that bitcoin would reach $2,000 in 2017. At the time, bitcoin was trading below $900, according to CoinDesk, a website that tracks the price of digital currencies on a number of different exchanges.
Bitcoin blew past the $2,000 figure in May.
Van-Petersen said Tuesday that bitcoin could hit between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2018.
"First off, you could argue we have had a proper correction in bitcoin, it has had a 50 percent pull back at one point, which is healthy. But we have still not seen the full effect of the futures contracts," Van-Petersen said.
The CME and Cboe both launched bitcoin futures trading contracts last year. The move was seen as a way to get more institutional investors involved in the cryptocurrency market and legitimize it. But trading got off to a light start. Van-Petersen said that more institutions will get on board over time, but it won't happen quickly.
To reach $100,000, bitcoin would need to rally over 635 percent from Tuesday's highest price of $13,601.43, according to CoinDesk. Previously, Van-Petersen said that $100,000 could take ten years to hit.
Also, bitcoin has been trading sideways since the start of the year. But the Saxo Bank analyst said that bitcoin tends to trade around a certain level then "re-rates".
"I wouldn't be surprised if it's something we are seeing. It's kind of building a foundation, then will re-rate a bit higher."
Bitcoin and other coins, including ethereum and ripple, saw a big sell-off on Tuesday, however.
Still, Van-Petersen said that ethereum is likely to outperform bitcoin this year.
"Ethereum came after bitcoin, it has a more unified leadership than bitcoin," he said. "They seem to be a bit further along the way in regards to forming the solution to scaling issues. And you can see transactions on their side eclipses transactions across other cryptos."
Bitcoin briefly plunged below $10,000 late Tuesday afternoon on Coinbase, after first topping the psychologically key level in late November.
Other major digital currencies also sold off sharply. Digital currency ethereum plunged 30 percent Tuesday, to below $1,000, while ripple fell below $1.
In fact, nearly every major cryptocurrency suffered massive losses during the day.
Ethereum traded at about $1,062 as of 8:12 p.m. ET. That represented a sizable rebound after hitting a low of $854 earlier in the afternoon. Coinbase is the leading U.S. marketplace for trading bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash.
But at around 10:50 p.m. ET, the price of ethereum fell below $1,000 again to trade at $973.
The declines followed comments from South Korean authorities that indicated tougher regulation on digital currency trading. However, there was no immediately apparent driver behind the late-afternoon decline.
Ethereum 24-hour performance
Source: Coinbase
Bitcoin dropped 28 percent to a low of $9,969 on Coinbase, but quickly jumped back up to trade back above $11,000 as of 8:12 p.m., ET.
At about 10:50 p.m. ET, bitcoin prices slipped again to trade at $10,757.
Bitcoin has now nearly halved in price after topping $19,800 in mid-December. But the digital currency remains more than 1,100 percent higher over the last 12 months, according to Coinbase.
Bitcoin 1-hour performance
Source: Coinbase
Ripple, the third-largest digital currency by market capitalization, traded near $1.05 after earlier plunging 46 percent to near 90 cents, according to CoinMarketCap. Last week, the site began excluding prices from some South Korean exchanges, where ripple trades about 20 cents higher.
1/43 Designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini from Italian company Jet Capsule. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph. Jet Capsule/Cover Images
2/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
3/43 A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Images
4/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
5/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
6/43 The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
7/43 Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images
8/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex
9/43 Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex
10/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
11/43 A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters
12/43 A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex
13/43 A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
14/43 A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters
15/43 A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty
16/43 A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty
17/43 Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S Reuters
18/43 The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018 AP
19/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
20/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' Reuters
21/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Reuters
22/43 Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
23/43 The interior of Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
24/43 Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 Reuters
25/43 A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters
26/43 Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. The Connected company is a part of seven Toyota in-house companies that was created in April 2016 Getty
27/43 A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) service on the cockpit of the latest Prius hybrid vehicle during Toyota's "connected strategy" press briefing in Tokyo Getty
28/43 An exhibitor charges the battery cells of AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
29/43 A robot with a touch-screen information apps stroll down the pavillon at the Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
30/43 An exhibitor demonstrates the AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
31/43 Robotic fishes swim in a water glass tank displayed at the Korea pavillon during Singapore International Robo Expo Getty
32/43 An employee shows a Samsung Electronics' Gear S3 Classic during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea Reuters
33/43 Visitors experience Samsung Electronics' Gear VR during the Korea Electronics Grand Fair at an exhibition hall in Seoul, South Korea Getty
34/43 Amy Rimmer, Research Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, demonstrates the car manufacturer's Advanced Highway Assist in a Range Rover, which drives the vehicle, overtakes and can detect vehicles in the blind spot, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
35/43 Chris Burbridge, Autonomous Driving Software Engineer for Tata Motors European Technical Centre, demonstrates the car manufacturer's GLOSA V2X functionality, which is connected to the traffic lights and shares information with the driver, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA wire
36/43 Ford EEBL Emergency Electronic Brake Lights is demonstrated during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire PA
37/43 Full-scale model of 'Kibo' on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan EPA
38/43 Miniatures on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module 'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles EPA
39/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight. At this biennial event, the participating companies exhibit their latest service robotic technologies and components Getty
40/43 The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight Getty
41/43 Government and industry are working together on a robot-like autopilot system that could eliminate the need for a second human pilot in the cockpit AP
42/43 Aurora Flight Sciences' technicians work on an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automantion System (ALIAS) device in the firm's Centaur aircraft at Manassas Airport in Manassas, Va. AP
