Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrencies Drop as Investors Deal With Volatile Trading
Bitcoin, as well as the host of other cryptocurrencies linked to it, is under pressure. The digital currency has lost as much as 30 percent of its value before the weekend, and others like etherum and litecoin have followed suit as selloffs continue.
Holders of cryptocurrencies are facing uncertainty this week, as bitcoin alternates between sharply dropping, then recouping some of its losses since Friday, Dec. 22. This new development comes on the heels of its record high of just shy of $20,000 this Monday, according to Fortune.
Other cryptocurrencies have also suffered dips in value, as plainly made clear by the trends on Coin Market Cap. While bitcoin lost almost 25 percent of its value since Monday's peak, other currencies have also stumbled.
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Of the major cryptocurrencies being actively traded, ethereum saw some of the biggest losses this week, when it dropped as much as 36 percent. Litecoin, which just made headlines a few days ago when its founder Charlie Lee claimed to have already sold off all his holdings, was also hit hard with a 43 percent drop.
The current swings in this month's volatile cryptocurrency market have given major investors reason to worry. One of them, former Goldman Sachs macro trader Michael Novogratz, described his reservations.
"We didn't like market conditions and we wanted to re-evaluate what we're doing," he said, adding that bitcoin may yet fall to as low as US$8,000 and beyond, or an almost sixty percent plunge in value from its record high.
The mass sell-off of bitcoin and other digital currencies have also put pressure on exchanges, especially Coinbase. Customers of the popular exchange have seen it go down several times before the weekend, prompting Coinbase to suspend some trading by 11 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 22.
"Due to today's high traffic, buys and sells may be temporarily offline. We're working on restoring full availability as soon as possible," the status page of Coinbase' website announced.
