Bitcoin’s slump continued on Wednesday for a second straight day as investors are still selling off massive amounts of virtual currency. Regulatory news from major Asian markets, including South Korea and China, have been something of an eye-opener to crypto traders, who now fear that stricter regulation could be coming.
As was the case yesterday, the entire cryptocurrency market is down. It’s not only Bitcoin that traders that are worried about. Other major cryptocoins including Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and more are riding the same wave of uncertainty. But the Bitcoin slump is particularly severe, with the currency having plummeted below the $10,000 mark for the first time since November.
If you’ve just started trading bitcoins or altcoins, you’re probably pretty concerned about what’s happening right now. Monday’s gains just turned into major losses, if you’re still holding onto any type of currency. More experienced players who bought in when prices were a lot lower are probably still able to turn a healthy profit, albeit not as large as in previous weeks.
With a prices hovering around $10,000, Bitcoin is still up 1100% compared to a year ago, even if its value almost halved since before Christmas, when the coin reached a record price of nearly $20,000.
Ethereum and Ripple, the second and third largest altcoins by market capitalization, followed the same trend. Both coins are trading at prices that are significantly lower than Monday’s rates, but they’re still profitable for those buyers who bought in early on.
Here’s what the prices looked like on Tuesday morning for the top 10 coins by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap:
And here’s what they look like just 24 hours later on Wednesday:
There’s no telling what will happen next. Prices could continue to slide, or they could go back to previous levels without warning. All eyes are on South Korea and China for updates on proposed regulations.
