LAHORE: Over $550 billion of value was wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market in just under a month when Bitcoin slid another 13 per cent to below $6,000 on February 06, bringing the world’s best-known cryptocurrency’s losses to more than half since the start of 2018.
After making a recovery, Bitcoin prices floated just above $10,000 here on Friday. However despite the upward trend investors are still down an eye watering $60 billion.
The recent Bitcoin rally has come as a result of a series of positive news and signals from the broader cryptocurrency market, including Litecoin and Ethereum.
Earlier this month Bitcoin prices plunged as investors feared a global crackdown led by the US government, however, despite Special Assistant to the US President and White House CyberSecurity Coordinator Rob Joyce claiming that the US government has a long way before it can start to regulate bitcoin, he expressed that the US government has no plans to ban the currency.
Moreover, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Christopher Giancarlo and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton remarks before the Senate gave the investors hope.
Senior analysts claim that the US government has no intentions to ban the currency but wants to regulate the market to protect the interest of the wider public.
Moreover, South Korea’s strict policies and the outright ban on cryptocurrency exchanges pushed Bitcoin prices down. But now it is apparently considering a licensing system for cryptocurrency exchanges, according to reports from Business Korea.
However, investors that bought Bitcoin at the beginning of the year took the hit. Bitcoin started the year at $14,000, down from an all-time high of about $20,000 in December. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin’s market cap is still down by about $60 billion.
A Pakistani investor while talking to Pakistan Today said that “I bought into the bitcoin craze and invested when prices were hovering around $18,000, however since then prices have not shown a positive return.” To a question whether he would invest more since the prices are up again, he said “I am waiting for the prices to go back up to $15,000. I am only looking to recover my losses; I will sell as soon as prices hit $20,000 again.”
Lahore University of Management Sciences student told Pakistan Today, “I am becoming more interested in cryptocurrencies as I am constantly surrounded by people who are investing in the crypto market. However, I am looking at cheaper currencies such as Litecoin and Ripple since they require a low investment and offer a stable ROI, in my opinion.”
As of late Friday, the cryptocurrencies had moderated some of their latest gains. Bitcoin is now up 7 per cent at $10,000, Ethereum rose 2 per cent to $926, while Litecoin trades up roughly 1 per cent at $211.
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