The cryptocurrency market continues to suffer a major blow this morning after a significant hack on a South Korean exchange rocked investor confidence. The cryptocurrency market itself has lost more than 50 percent of its total value in 2018, with the likes of bitcoin and Ripple losing roughly 10 percent in the last three days. Bitcoin dropped to $6,569.15 as of 10am this morning, with the rest of the cryptocurrency market following suit.
It is difficult to pinpoint an exact reason for the massive slide the cryptocurrency market is experiencing right now, though some analysts are pointing the finger at CoinRail’s recent hack. CoinRail, a south Korean cryptocurrency exchange, announced they had suffered the attack on Sunday, mentioning that several smaller altcoins had been stolen by the attackers. The announcement didn’t mention any of the bigger cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or Ripple, but that didn’t stop prices dropping as investors saw a threat to the market.
As a result, each cryptocurrency on the market lost an average of 10 percent on the weekend, ending in a 70-day low. CoinRail trades more than 50 cryptocurrencies and was among the world’s Top 100 most active venues, with a 24-hour volume of about $2.65 million, according to data compiled by Coinmarketcap.com before news of the hack
This morning, the slump continues to ravage the market, with bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin all losing between 4-9 percent of their value. However, eToro senior market analyst Mati Greenspan thinks that the most recent hack should not be taken out of context.