Flickr/AntanaWe’ve seen Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies shoot up in value at times during this year but almost every one drastically crashed today, December 22.
According to TechCrunch, Bitcoin jumped from $8,000 to nearly $20,000 but it all hit an ‘abrupt end today’ as the price crashed as much as 23 percent on Coinbase – a digital currency exchange site.
They said the price ‘briefly dipped below $12,000 on some exchanges at around 7:30am UK time’.
PixabayThe drop in price wiped more than $4,000 from the value of bitcoin at one point, the ‘highest percentage loss of value’ Bitcoin has seen this year.
At the very start of the year, Bitcoin was valued at $998 and it soared up to a record high of nearly $20,000 on some exchanges earlier this week.
We’ve been seeing a steady decline in the cryptocurrency since the peak on Sunday, including a massive drop to $17,000 on Tuesday.
GettyIt isn’t just Bitcoin seeing a dip either, Ethereum (down 20 per cent), Bitcoin Cash (down 30 per cent), Litecoin (down 21 per cent) and ‘nearly every high-profile altcoin lost value over the last 24 hours’, according to Coinmarketcap.com.
Ripple was up seven per cent, and was reportedly just one of two coins to remain green.
Bitcoin isn’t the only crypto plunging, all but two of the most valuable 100 coins are down in value over the last 24 hours https://t.co/FfWgyk8F2u pic.twitter.com/ZnnmoUG3xP
— Jon Russell (@jonrussell) December 22, 2017
TechCrunch said nobody really knows what has caused the crash, but then nobody knows why Bitcoin’s price increased so much since the start of the year — although many people have said it could be down to the fact ‘financial institutions are embracing the cryptocurrency’.
So how next year will play out in the world of cryptocurrency is anybody’s guess.
Emil Oldenburg, who co-founded Bitcoin.com, dumped his coins just last week saying they were as ‘good as useless’.
Speaking to tech site Breakit, Oldenburg said bitcoin is the ‘most risky investment you can make’ and the drop this week only seems to support his statement.
He said:
It is an extremely high risk. I’ve actually sold all my bitcoins recently and switched to bitcoin cash.
It costs a lot to transfer bitcoins to and from the stock exchanges. When I sold my BTC I had to pay $50 and wait 12 hours or the transaction to go through because of this.
He revealed Bitcoin.com had ‘stopped developing new services for the old bitcoin network’ and now primarily focuses mostly on bitcoin cash, which was launched in August.
The old bitcoin network is virtually unusable. It’s at bitcoin cash that the solutions are, that’s where I see a future.
some serious insider trading has just gone down with Bitcoin Cash being announced on Coinbase, have never seen anything more obvious in my life
— Erich Landa (@erich_landa) December 20, 2017
On Wednesday, Coinbase temporarily froze trading on the altcoin as a result of fears its own works may have exploited the currency’s move to the trading platform.
The San Fransisco-based firm announced the move after the price of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) spiked, according to the BBC.
The company’s CEO intervened after several market watchers began making allegations of illegal activity across social media.
Brian Armstrong responded saying he had repeatedly told his staff not to disclose the launch of BCH to family or friends, and even said they shouldn’t trade in the Bitcoin-alternative themselves.
Looking at trading prior to Coinbase adding Bitcoin Cash, it’s obvious word leaked out prior to addition. US Gov’t will undoubtedly have the knives out for them. Either insider trading or someone inside leaked info. Regardless, Coinbase can only blame itself for what’s to follow.
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) December 20, 2017
Guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens, since nobody seems to actually know.
