Bitcoin drops below $10,000
Bitcoin slumped over the weekend after rising back above $10,000 late last week.
The largest cryptocurrency fell 10% on Sunday according to Bitstamp pricing, its biggest one-day drop since March 12.
It has dropped 13% from Friday and traded at $8,669 as of 7:45 a.m. in Hong Kong, according to composite pricing on Bloomberg.
The volatility in Bitcoin comes in a week when a halving is expected, an event that happens about every four years and slows down the rate at which new tokens are created — an intentional feature designed to control inflation.
Notoriously Volatile
While Bitcoin has been notoriously volatile over the years and crashed spectacularly after a peak near $20,000 in December 2017, it has also slowly been making inroads.
Regulated exchanges have gradually been offering more in the way of products like futures and options around the asset and institutional interest has been building.
Cryptocurrencies still have their fair share of skeptics, from Warren Buffett to Nouriel Roubini. And data last month from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP showed the industry struggled to attract mainstream investment last year as global fund raising and deals both dried up, including a 76% collapse in M&A value to $451 million from almost $1.9 billion the year before.
“With the Bitcoin halving fast approaching, we believe a short-term pullback is highly likely immediately post-halving, as traders begin taking profits,” said Lennard Neo, head of research at Stack AM Pte., which provides cryptocurrency trackers and index funds.
“In the longer-term, we can expect Bitcoin to register significant price appreciation toward the end of 2020 and early 2021.”
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