2020’s first bitcoin bloodbath is here

[Chris Smith]

• Bitcoin’s price flash-crashed from nearly $8,000 to about $5,650 in early Thursday trading, taking the entire cryptocurrency market along for the ride.
• The sudden dip can easily be correlated with the panic on Wall Street, where the Dow futures took a massive 1,100 points dip early on Thursday over coronavirus pandemic concerns.
• The COVID-19 pandemic and the oil price war might not be the only reasons Bitcoin’s price fell so sharply this week. Foul play from bitcoin whales is also suspected.
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The coronavirus outbreak seems out of control in some regions, with the World Health Organization having declared it a pandemic on Wednesday afternoon. Italy is on lockdown, as the local government is trying to reduce the number of infections and deaths at all costs. The number of cases in Italy surged from just a few to more than 12,000 in less than three weeks, and there are worries that other countries might follow the same trend. Similar measures might be required in other regions to prevent the potential collapse of local medical systems that are trying to keep those infected alive.

The worldwide economy is expected to take a huge hit, and that’s not actually news. Since the first weeks of the COVID-19 infections, there was talk of an imminent global recession caused by China’s lockdown. But now that the virus has engulfed Western countries including all of Europe and the US, investors have been in panic mode for the last few weeks. Dow futures just dropped 1,100 points following Donald Trump’s speech on Wednesday, and that’s not the only financial indicator that proves investors aren’t happy. The entire crypto ecosystem took a massive hit early on Thursday, with bitcoin trading down nearly 25% at the time of this writing. Bitcoin dropped as low as $5650 per bitcoin, a figure not seen since last May. The coronavirus panic might not be the only thing affecting the price of the world’s most prized cryptocurrency, however.

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2020’s first bitcoin bloodbath is here originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 12 Mar 2020 at 09:16:54 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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