All (Ex)Change! Sudden Cryptocurrency Fall Rattles Investors, Incites Media

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have experienced a further jolt as the new price triangle promised by investors turns out to be a downward one.

$10bn Disappears From Markets Overnight

Cross-exchange data from CoinMarketCap shows Bitcoin’s price diving from a weekly high of $2635 Monday to a low of $2296 before a correction to current rates around $2360.

The drop was repeated across the major altcoins and beyond, with a total of around $10 billion wiped off the value of the cryptocurrency market in just 24 hours.

Reasons for Tuesday’s Hell for traders remain unclear, with reactions falling into several categories.

Some called it the end of a suspected crypto bubble, while others remained unfazed, considering the event another part of the boom-and-bust cycle inherent in virtual currencies in 2017.

The latter perspective was summed up in a graphic of percentage decrease of crypto assets following their all-time 2017 highs, many of which occurred in the last two months.

Embattled Ether Down Three Times Over Bitcoin

Bitcoin predictably has declined least of all, with panic selling limited to younger, considerably more volatile assets such as tokens issued in recent ICOs.

Warnings around the latest investment craze continue to surface in light of the knock-on effects seen by recent high-profile token sales on the Ethereum network. Ether itself had one of the most troubling days in its recent history, at one point declining over 25% to tumble below the $200 mark for the first time since May. Its price has since corrected to an average of just above $200.

Media Cries ‘Bear!’

The intense volatility and cries of despair on social media meanwhile continue to inspire known long-term investors such as Twitter personality WhalePanda.

The hype surrounding price fluctuations both up and down is regularly fanned by mainstream media publications, with a reactionary article in The Street today being no exception.

In the piece, the publication announced Bitcoin had “crashed into a bear market” on the back of the “embarrassing” trial of former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles, which began Monday.

“Gold, in contrast, has fallen around 6.6% since reaching their 2017 peak of $1,296.17 on June 6,” The Street proclaims, despite the precious metal incurring more than a little scorn from economics commentators for its lackluster performance.

Prior to the price drop, investors had forecast a breakout for Bitcoin out of the zone it had occupied for the previous few weeks.

What do you think about the latest cryptocurrency price trend? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Twitter, AdobeStock