Bitcoin has lost over 12% of its value over the course of 24 hours and is now traded at $5,673, a price level that was last observed in October 2017. Back in December 2017 one BTC was worth almost $20,000. Is it the end of all hopes for cryptocurrency bulls who still expect a sudden market revival?
The cryptocurrency industry as a whole seems to follow the example of BTC. All major cryptocurrencies in the top-20 list have lost from 9% to 16% of their value over the course of only one day (with an exception of Tether, which is pegged to the USD).
Not only has the rest of the cryptocurrency market contracted, it seems to contract at a faster rate than Bitcoin itself. BTC is still the world’s most popular crypto that occupies 53% of the entire cryptocurrency market. Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash occupy 10% and 4% respectively.
BKCM founder and CEO Brian Kelly believes that Bitcoin Cash is to blame. The so-called ‘crypto civil war’ that erupted following the announcement of a BCH hard fork, has brought chaos to the industry. As always in the cryptocurrency market, technology (or rather, technological upgrades) are behind the most noticeable price movements.
“People started selling. That triggered stops. Everybody got concerned. And that’s what happened today — the entire market sell-down,” says Kelly.
The expert, however, believes that the downturn will be short-lived and should be perceived more as an opportunity. Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, has warned potential cryptocurrency investors that most assets are thinly traded (which means that they lack sufficient trading volume) and should be approached with care.
Should Bitcoin continue to depreciate, it can offer more short selling opportunities in the future. However, any forecast regarding the cryptocurrency market should be taken with a grain of salt, as Bitcoin and its younger peers are highly unstable and volatile assets and their behavior is hard to predict.
