Bitcoin skids amid broad cryptocurrency sell-off

[rooster59]

Bitcoin skids amid broad cryptocurrency sell-off

By Tommy Wilkes and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

 

FILE PHOTO: Broken representation of the Bitcoin virtual currency, placed on a monitor that displays stock graph and binary codes, are seen in this illustration picture, December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cryptocurrencies plunged on Friday, with bitcoin at one point sliding below $8,000 and headed for its biggest weekly loss since December 2013, amid worries about a regulatory clampdown globally.

 

The currencies have come off their lows but analysts said the sell-off was probably not over.

 

This week's slump brought the total market value of cryptocurrencies down to around $400 billion, half the high it reached in January, according to industry tracker Coinmarketcap.com. The market value of cryptocurrencies is calculated by multiplying the number of digital coins in existence by their price, although many question whether that is the right way to value them.

 

Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell as much as 15 percent on Friday to a two-month low of $7,625 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. It clawed back some losses and was down around 5.6 percent at $8,498 in late New York trading.

 

The virtual currency is down by close to 25 percent this week and almost 40 percent in 2018. It surged more than 1,000 percent though in 2017.

 

For some market participants, bitcoin may be down, but it is not likely to fade.

 

"Bitcoin has become, and will continue to be, primarily a speculative asset class," said David Moskowitz, Co-founder and Director of Indorse, the decentralized social network for professionals.

 

He added that the recent drops in transaction fees have made it easier to use bitcoin for payments once again. And if a payment solution can help the congestion, bitcoin may once again become an effective payment network, Moskowitz said.

 

The second and third largest virtual currencies, Ethereum and Ripple, also plunged more than 20 percent at the session low, Coinmarketcap.com said. Ethereum was last down 13.2 percent, at $888.22, while Ripple last traded at 83 U.S. cents, down 14.7 percent.

 

Retail investors have poured money into digital coins, enticed by the huge run-up in prices. Regulators say cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and dangerous investments.

 

On Thursday, India vowed to eradicate the use of crypto-assets, joining China and South Korea in promising to ban parts of the nascent market where prices have boomed in recent years.

 

Social media website Facebook said this week it would ban cryptocurrency advertisements because many were associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices. U.S. regulators have sent a subpoena to two of the world's biggest cryptocurrency players, Bitfinex and Tether

 

A massive $530 million hack of a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange last week renewed worries about the security of the industry.

 

Critics of virtual currencies have called the run-up in prices a speculative bubble, but supporters of cryptocurrencies say short-term price volatility is to be expected, and the blockchain technology underpinning these assets maintains its power and value.

 

Going back to 2011 and including the current selloff, bitcoin's price has been halved nine times on the Bitstamp exchange before recovering. The last time was from November 2014 to January 2015.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-03

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Going to zero

[pokerface1]

will the dead cat bounce any time soon or will it just be eaten up by the hungry bears

 

[Voodoochile]

• Come on "Bitty" u can do it

[bkkcanuck8]

17 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

will the dead cat bounce any time soon or will it just be eaten up by the hungry bears

 

It only takes one major terrorist attack funded by money laundered through bitcoin... for it to be made made illegal... replaced by nation state eCurrencies.

 

We use to have notes issued by different banks before they were nationalized.

Edited February 3, 2018 by bkkcanuck8

[chicowoodduck]

Yup, just waiting on all the Bitcom money boys to chip in and say what a good deal it is, was??????

 

A fool and his money.....lol....?

[speedtripler]

2 hours ago, chicowoodduck said:

Yup, just waiting on all the Bitcom money boys to chip in and say what a good deal it is, was??????

 

A fool and his money.....lol....?

Just waiting on the dinosaurs and their pensions to tell us btc can never work because they like their old financial System

 

Just like their fax machines and type writers.... 

[isaanbanhou]

9 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

Just waiting on the dinosaurs and their pensions to tell us btc can never work because they like their old financial System

 

Just like their fax machines and type writers.... 

love the boys that put their money in Napster, AOL and myspace. 

 

Best part about the young...there is one born every minute

[speedtripler]

54 minutes ago, isaanbanhou said:

love the boys that put their money in Napster, AOL and myspace. 

 

Best part about the young...there is one born every minute

Best part about the old, they think they know everything 

Until they don't, and can't even work the new TV remote control anymore  

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, speedtripler said:

Just waiting on the dinosaurs and their pensions to tell us btc can never work because they like their old financial System

 

Just like their fax machines and type writers.... 

Yes, what does Warren Buffet know about investing ?

[isaanbanhou]

2 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

Best part about the old, they think they know everything 

Until they don't, and can't even work the new TV remote control anymore  

 

[speedtripler]

3 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Yes, what does Warren Buffet know about investing ?

In cryptocurrencys, very little

 

Most people here would be wise to listen to him and don't invest in anything you don't understand.... 

 

 

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, speedtripler said:

In cryptocurrencys, very little

 

Is that a fact ? Or is that just something that you think is correct ?

Do you know what Warren Buffet knows and doesnt know about Cryptocurrency ?

[isaanbanhou]

5 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

In cryptocurrencys, very little

 

Most people here would be wise to listen to him and don't invest in anything you don't understand.... 

 

 

 

BITCOIN, Ripple and Ethereum are all crashing today with the cryptocurrency market losing some $102billion over the past 24 hours.

 

/www.express.co.uk/finance/city/913602/Bitcoin-Ripple-cryptocurrency-crash-why-Bitcoin-Ripple-Ethereum-falling-value-news

 

$102,000,000,000  loss in 24 hours. That could have bought  you 10,200,000,000 pair of elephant pants. 

 

Brother, all your gonna have left is your man bun

[sanemax]

11 minutes ago, isaanbanhou said:

 

You really do not have to give my posts a confused look, just because I gave your post a confused look .

  I was confused as to why you posted that me me , and you just gave me a confused look to my post in retaliation .

   You really need to grow up .

(Yes, I know that this post will get a confused look from you) 

[isaanbanhou]

right back at you buddy

[Briggsy]

I have a lot of plastic bags in my kitchen drawer from Family Mart, 7-11, Tesco Lotus, etc. I have named them Bitplastic. I have heard that some retailers somewhere in the world may take Bitplastic as payment. I will also sell Bitplastic on the Nasdaq. Any takers? Get in quick at my pre-launch IPO for the best discounts.

[speedtripler]

2 hours ago, isaanbanhou said:

 

BITCOIN, Ripple and Ethereum are all crashing today with the cryptocurrency market losing some $102billion over the past 24 hours.

 

/www.express.co.uk/finance/city/913602/Bitcoin-Ripple-cryptocurrency-crash-why-Bitcoin-Ripple-Ethereum-falling-value-news

 

$102,000,000,000  loss in 24 hours. That could have bought  you 10,200,000,000 pair of elephant pants. 

 

Brother, all your gonna have left is your man bun

 

[Dap]

6 hours ago, speedtripler said:

In cryptocurrencys, very little

 

Most people here would be wise to listen to him and don't invest in anything you don't understand.... 

 

 

 "most people here" anywhere.