Bitcoin prices plummeted today, shedding approximately half of their value as global markets were afflicted by widespread panic and liquidity problems.
The digital currency fell to as little as $3,867.09, CoinDesk figures show.
At this point, the cryptocurrency had plunged 49.6% from its price of more than $7,600 at the start of the day, and was trading at its lowest in almost a year, additional CoinDesk data reveals.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
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When explaining bitcoin’s extreme price decline, analysts emphasized concerns surrounding the coronavirus and a global liquidity crunch.
Further, several market observers pointed to Asian trading as fuelling the digital currency’s sharp losses over the last several hours.
“Most of crypto is driven by the Asian market,” said Marouane Garcon, managing director of crypto-to-crypto derivatives platform Amulet. “The threat of coronavirus is greater over there.”
Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund manager BitBull Capital, also weighed in, stating that as Asia woke up “to the market crash,” it helped drive “prices down further.”
John Iadeluca, founder & CEO of multi-strategy fund Banz Capital, emphasized the importance of trading activity in South Korea.
When investors in the East Asian nation woke up several hours ago and began their day, they realized “the destruction that the global financial markets caused while it was their night time,” he stated.
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“The psychological stance as well as global virus pandemic are playing perfectly into one another to see cash as the only possible current safe haven,” said Iadeluca.
While this latest drop may look dire for bitcoin, there may also be a silver lining, according to Michael Conn, founder and managing partner of financial services firm Quail Creek Ventures,
He stated that while “the liquidity crunch continues,” the current situation is an “overreaction” and “will lead to buying opportunities in the near future,” he said.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
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