Bitcoin fell below $8,000 for the third time in four days on Monday amid a broader sell-off in cryptocurrencies that has seen over $60 billion of valued erased from the market in 24 hours.
The price of bitcoin traded as low as $7,178.65 on Monday and sat below the $8,000 mark for most of the morning's trade, according to CoinDesk. It's the lowest price for bitcoin since November 16. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from digital currency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex.
On Friday, bitcoin fell below $8,000 for the first time since November 24. It then rose above $9,000 over the weekend before falling below $8,000 on Sunday.
It was not only bitcoin that fell either. Other major virtual currencies, including ethereum and ripple, fell sharply in the last 24 hours. The market capitalization or value of the entire cryptocurrency market fell to around $350 billion around 11:23 a.m., ET, Monday, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. This was a drop of around $67.7 billion in 24 hours.
As cryptocurrencies across the board once again take a hit, bitcoin is exploring the downside below $8,000.
The sharp recovery in prices on CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) from the Friday's low of $7,695 ran into offers at a high of $9,471.46 at 21:59 UTC on Saturday. In the subsequent hours, the bears pushed the cryptocurrency back to $8,000.
Bitcoin dropped further to a low of $7,876.69 at 02:30 UTC today and was last seen at $7,995. The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has depreciated by 12 percent in the last 24 hours, according to data source CoinMarketCap.
A similar price action has been seen across the market. Bitcoin cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP) are down 14 percent each, while ethereum's ether (ETH) token has dropped 13 percent in the last 24 hours.
The biggest loser in the top 100 cryptos by market cap is the ethereum-based token called dent (in 75th place). The company aims to liberate mobile data by enabling users to sell or donate excess data via the ethereum blockchain.
The price of dent has depreciated by 26 percent in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. It is worth noting that dent was leading the cryptomarket recovery over the weekend. As of writing, it is changing hands at $0.023647, having clocked a high of $0.033194 over the weekend.
Currently, the total market capitalization of all currencies taken together stands at $397 billion – up 14 percent from Friday's low of $348 billion.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple, the company that oversees XRP development.
Chalkboard chart image via Shutterstock
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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has struggled this year and its price plummeted to a two-month low latest Friday. Nithin Eapen, Chief Investment Officer at Arcadia Crypto Ventures has claimed the cryptocurrency will always be volatile but said that Bitcoin was the future. He said: “This is nothing you see. It has just fallen 20 percent this week, maybe in the two months, it has fallen 50 percent. “I used to remember times when this was one dollar, then it goes to $10 and then it’s back to $3. Compared to that, this is nothing.
GETTY•ALJAZEERA Bitcoin price news: Nithin Eapen said Bitcoin was not going away
“For all of those newbies out there, oh my God, they’re going to get crushed, but this is not classical music, or Jazz, this is punk rock, and they have to be ready for that. “If you are expecting classical music, something that is very calm, well you are in for a surprise.” Also speaking on Al Jazeera, Mr Eapen said: “What percentage of people are in crypto? And this is changing the world. “This is like 1994 and the internet. By 1998 most of the analysts out there were saying ‘by 2002 there is not going to be any internet there and this hype is going to go away.’
This is nothing you see. It has just fallen 20 percent this week Nithin Eapen, Chief Investment Officer
“So in between that prices went up and prices went down but the space is expanding”. The expert also claimed that he did not think Bitcoin would be able to be regulated. “One, you cannot regulate Bitcoin because nobody owns it,” he said. “You cannot take the server down, there is not one server to take down, there is not one company to take down.” Bitcoin’s price fell 5.74 percent according to Coindesk, down to $7,716.73, after opening at $8,186.65, at 10.52am (GMT) on Monday 5 February.
Cryptocurrency price: A year in charts Tue, January 16, 2018 Compare crypto currencies (Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin) on value, market cap and supply for the past year Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 10
Bitcoin's price plummeted to a two-month low last Friday after going through an unexpected growth spurt shortly before Christmas. Mr Verrone said the crash signalled the financial sector is not prepared to "own bitcoin yet" and investors should wait to plunge into the crypto market until prices stabilise. He said: "We are not ready to own bitcoin yet. I think this goes lower before it ultimately goes higher. "The trend is clearly down: we are down 60 percent from the highs not long ago. Until it stabilises you can’t touch it."
GETTY•BLOOMBERG Bitcoin price: Chris Verrone suggested investors should wait until bitcoin's price stabilises
Bitcoin is crashed down to $6,831.84 at 7.28pm on Monday after UK high-street bank Lloyds banned all cryptocurrency payments on its credit cards. The ban extends to other household names in the banking giant's credit card family including Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA. Wallet holders would have been hoping for a better start to the week but news of another mainstream finance firm being spooked by price volatility and regulatory threats means that other credit cards retailers around the world will be studying the fallout from Lloyds' ban. Concerns have arisen among credit card providers because their customers have increasingly been using credit cards to fund accounts on online exchanges, which are then used to purchase the digital currencies. Last week Mastercard, the world's second-biggest payments network, said customers buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards fuelled a 1 percent increase in overseas transaction volumes. But Mr Varrone remained optimistic about bitcoin, saying it was "too early" to declare bitcoin was completely finished.
Until it stabilises you can’t touch it Chris Verrone
