Nobody seems to be talking about it here on steemit but the price of cryptocurrencies has been taking a beating this past week. If you're new to cryptocurrency and you haven't developed the discipline to hold on to your coins during times like this, it could be a very scary time specially if you have invested your money as I did.
I am, of course, speaking from my own experience. It's only my third month on steemit. I've only bought SBD two months ago but I've seen the price of steem double and then drop down below the amount I purchased them within that short time span.
So I did what any newbie coin holder does during drops in prices. I read everything I can about the topic. This is what I've learned so far . . .
Every Existing CryptoCurrency is Still Coupled with BitCoin
This simply means that all other existing coins are tied to the price of Bitcoin. If Bitcoin drops, all other coins drop. If bitcoin gains, all other coins gain as well.
Allegedly, Bitcoins extraordinary price surge last December was fueled by price manipulation centered around Bitfinex and Tether. If the price of Bitcoin was artificially inflated, it would naturally correct and lose value taking along all other coins with it in the plunge.
Ideally, each coin must be evaluated by its own merits. That's still not happening but should in the future. It's called 'decoupling' and should benefit the entire crypto industry as we won't all be dependent on the price of Bitcoin.
Security Issues
Blockchain tech is highly secure. The security problems often exploited by hackers are in the exhanges.
One reason often cited as a contributor to the falling prices of cryptocurrency is the hacking of CoinRail, a relatively small coin exchange in South Korea. However, some say that it couldn't have been the cause of the continuing fall of crypto prices.
Regardless, it's clear that some exchanges are not taking security as seriously as they should. This issue has been happening again and again.
I will not go into how to secure your account, your wallets, and your coins. That is your responsibility and if you haven't taken steps to secure your assets, stop reading this and go secure your coins first.
Government Regulation
The SEC now considers ICO's an unregulated securities market. And the governments seem to have a good reason to regulated ICO's and cryptocurrencies in general. The general public is not protected from fraud.
If you ask me, anyone trying out cryptos should do their homework first. But, government protection should help.
Still, government regulation seems to be a turn-off for a lot of investors. And thus, it's a contributing factor to the falling crypto prices.
The Sky Isn't Falling
The crypto market has seen its ups and downs for several years now. We know that you can lose money if your timing isn't right. Overall, the crypto world isn't doing so bad.
As for me, I will continue doing what I'm doing, accumulating as much SP as I can no matter what the USD value is. I know it won't keep falling forever. It might take months to go up again but I don't care. I'll just keep doing what I've been doing.