$200bn value of cryptocurrencies lost in a single day, bitcoin takes massive hit

Wallet holders watched on as the total market capitalisation plunged from $653.8bn on Monday to $450.5bn on Tuesday evening. Bitcoin took a huge hit falling from $14,135 on Monday to $10,384, a fall of $3,751.

Ethereum has similarly sunk from $1,365 on Monday to a low of $917 today, a fall of $448, or 32.8 per cent of its value. Ripple is currently at $1.06 and could even fall below the $1 mark today.

South Korea and China have become the two hotspots for price disruption since the new year and Chinese authorities now want to ban citizens from trading in bitcoin. This doesn’t come as a massive shock. It is just the volatility you’d expect from a revolution, the kind of volatility that has been missing from equities for years. There are even fears that the government could ‘target’ people who trade large amounts of bitcoin.

China’s state-run Securities Times reported yesterday that the country is planning to widen the scope of its crackdown on domestic crypto-trades, by targeting methods including over-the-counter trading, offshore sites used for centralised trading, and peer-to-peer trading of large transactions.

There is even talk of globally-adopted regulations being discussed at the next G20 event. Earlier this week the director of Germany’s central bank said national rules will struggle to contain something that has become a global phenomenon.

Joachim Wuermeling told an event in Frankfurt: “Effective regulation of virtual currencies would therefore only be achievable through the greatest possible international cooperation because the regulatory power of nation-states is obviously limited.”

However, on yesterday’s price plunge, Clem Chambers, CEO of ADVFN and Online Blockchain told Express.co.uk bitcoin holders have seen this all before. He said: ”This doesn’t come as a massive shock. It is just the volatility you’d expect from a revolution, the kind of volatility that has been missing from equities for years.

“No need to hit the panic button if you are a long-term holder, but if you are a trader, a fall to $6000 is not impossible.”

Source: express.co.uk