Cryptocurrency market this week has been in a free fall, continue to decline this morning. Cryptocurrency market capitalization of less than 500 billion US dollars, Bitfinex bitcoin prices as low as 9,663 US dollars, setting the first time since December below 10,000 US dollars.
At present, bitcoin is trading at $ 10,053 and its market capitalization is only $ 170.9 billion, down 16% in a single day and down more than 28% this year.
Notably, bitcoin is still as high as $ 10,389 on the GDAX, a professional order book run by bitcoin brokerage firm Coinbase, but OKEx and Binance's flagship cryptocurrency prices are under $ 10,000.
Recently, investors are facing major adjustments
There are several factors that could cause this week's correction. Both China and South Korea have taken a tougher stance on domestic cryptocurrencies, with China now planning to block residents from entering the foreign exchange market while South Korea curb the moonlight ability of retail investors as day-time traders.
South Korean military reportedly prevented soldiers from entering the cryptocurrency exchange at military bases this week. In the meantime, the Justice Department is trying to completely ban cryptocurrencies exchange, though the government later lowered those concerns.
However, it seems doubtful that these developments, which seem to have caused such widespread volatility in global markets. As ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees said earlier today, "The rise and fall of the market is not necessarily a" justification ", suggesting that finding a clear trigger may be futile.
In any case, cryptocurrencies are the latest to see real market adjustments for the first time. Someone bought Bitcoins on Bitfinex for $ 19,891 on December 17, and the value of those coins has been cut in half in the past month.
How these investors deal with this sudden downturn may determine whether Bitcoin goes into a bear market before it breaks through.