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.
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
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
The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.
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 fallen 11.23 percent in the 24 hours to press time Monday, Feb. 5, dropping below support at $8000 as its price continues to dictate altcoin performance.
Data from Coin360 Monday shows a continuation of lacklustre price action for the largest cryptocurrency, which saw its slight rebound Saturday, Feb. 4 all but erased over the weekend.
Image source: coin360.io
On Coinbase, Bitstamp and some other exchanges, Bitcoin failed to maintain $8000 into Monday, hovering at around $7900 at press time, about $275 off Friday’s multi-month lows of $7625.
Friday’s dip triggered a short-term uptick that saw prices gain over $1200 in a single hour, enthusiasm appearing to dampen once again after passing $9000.
Traders offer perspective
On social media, cryptocurrency traders remained more steadfast than ever in their faith about both Bitcoin and altcoin perspectives.
John McAfee, who has championed Bitcoin and recently begun focussing on specific altcoins, told Twitter followers to “get a perspective” in the face of falling value.
“In a long term view, (Bitcoin) is still climbing. Forget about these short term ups and downs,” he continued.
Please God people - get a perspective about the market! The price of Bitcoin today is still higher than it was just three months ago! In a long term view, Bicoin is still climbing. Forget about these short term ups and downs. If you are a short term investor, you need to get real — John McAfee (@officialmcafee) February 4, 2018
Adding some perspective on the overall red-washed market, CNBC’s Ran Neuner tweeted yesterday that the combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies today is the same as it was in December, 2017:
Worried that the market is crashing? Bear in mind that today we are at a market cap of $400bn and that the first time the crypto market hit $400bn was 6 December. So we are back at levels from 2 months ago. The market cap is also up 20x since this time last year. — Ran Neuner (@cryptomanran) February 4, 2018
At press time, the total market cap according to CoinMarketCap was around $369 million, about the same level as it was Dec. 6, 2017:
Altcoin-focused accounts also cautioned traders against paying attention to coins’ value in USD or other fiat currency terms. Others were more bullish, using various methods as proof a more serious upturn was the most likely short-term future for Bitcoin.
