Are we finally seeing the Bitcoin bubble burst?
Earlier this week, the cryptocurrency set a new record as it hurtled to just shy of US$20,000.
READ: UK and EU regulators to ‘crackdown’ on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency platforms
Since then it has shed almost a third of its value to US$13,830 – its fifth 30+% correction in 2017.
Fellow digital currencies Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash have also both sustained heavy losses over the past couple of days.
“Whilst there have been some hacks, public infighting in the mining community, lots of rumoured forks and regulatory pressure building on some fronts, this is likely to be a simple bout of risk-off selling as investors rebalance towards year-end,” claimed ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.
“It looks like it’s time to cash in the gains and spending the winnings on a bumper Christmas.
Bitcoin has managed to withstand all of the issues noted by Wilson, gaining more than 13,000% since January.
Several analysts and market commentators – including the Wolf of Wall Street himself, Jordan Belfort – have been speculating that Bitcoin’s value was primed to plummet.
Wilson isn’t convinced though, especially given Bitcoin’s ability to recover relatively quickly from big dips.
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“It’s hard to see the bell tolling just yet. Large price swings have become so normal that it’s hard to decide – we can easily see this market bounce back in very short order.”