Bitcoin, which has exploded back into the media limelight and public consciousness over the last few weeks, has taken a turn for the worse, plunging by over 10% last night.
The bitcoin price, now hovering around $7,300 per bitcoin, had gained more than $2,000 in just a few short days at the end of last week but suddenly pulled back early this morning. The bitcoin price fell as low as $6,178 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange before swinging higher again.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investors are nervously awaiting an expected "correction" from the market, though none are sure when it might come or how painful it might be.
Meanwhile, Ripple's XRP led the cryptocurrency market lower, losing 11% over the last 24 hour trading period, while bitcoin cash and litecoin lost 10% and 8% respectively.
The total bitcoin and cryptocurrency market capitalization lost almost $30 billion in a matter of minutes, according to prices from CoinMarketCap, which tracks most major cryptocurrencies.
Earlier this week technically data showed the mini-bitcoin bull run could be coming to an abrupt end, with the relative strength index (RSI) showing bitcoin was overbought.
Some reports meanwhile suggested the sell off could have been sparked by a massive $35 million bitcoin sell order placed on the Bitstamp exchange shortly before the sudden extreme swings.
This sell order could have triggered further automated sell algorithms, pushing the bitcoin price sharply lower
Bitcoin mania has returned as the cryptocurrency industry gathers in New York for Blockchain Week NYC and CoinDesk’s Consensus 2019 event, with the likes of FedEx’s Fred Smith, Fidelity’s Abigail Johnson, Twitter and Square’s Jack Dorsey, chairman of the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, and U.S. presidential hopeful, Andrew Yang all taking the stage.
