Bitcoin was in a state of upheaval on early Friday morning as the currency briefly fell below $4,000 before going above $5,000 levels all within a 30-minute window.
What Happened
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mimicked equities as they went into free fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are both now in bear territory.
Investors will not find much relief in cryptomarkets either. Data from Coin360, a cryptocurrency data aggregator, indicates that Bitcoin’s market cap collapsed from $140 billion to $41.14 billion in 24 hours.
Bitcoin saw its yearly gains wiped out. In February, Bitcoin had reached $10,500, which is the highest level the cryptocurrency has achieved in the year-till-date.
Why It Matters
The rapid movement in the price of Bitcoin on Friday occurred after the crypto exchange BitMex went offline, leading to complaints on Twitter. One user tweeted, “Yeah, can't say I'm sad if BitMex disappears forever. I mean look how the price stopped tanking once BitMex went offline.”
Bitcoin may not have hit bottom yet as Peter Brandt, a veteran trader known for predicting the currency’s market crash from all-time highs, said on Twitter that if he examines the charts without bias the currency could reach sub $1,000 levels.
The carnage in the cryptomarkets has extended to altcoins as well. Ethereum traded 34.46% lower at $118.75 over 24 hours while Ripple was down 27.22% at $0.142654, and Bitcoin Cash was trading at 36.69% at $159.90 according to Coinmarketcap at press time.
Price Action
Bitcoin was trading at $5,069.13, lower by 33.48% at press time.
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