Bitcoin traded for below $8,000 Friday. It’s the first time bitcoin has traded for below $8,000 since November of last year. (CNBC) Bitcoin has lost more than $72 billion in market cap in 2018 (Business Insider via Yahoo).
Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency having a bad 2018.
Overall, cryptocurrencies are off 34% year-to-date. The entire cryptocurrency field has lost $207.7 billion in market cap, according to data from CoinMarketCap. (Fortune)
What’s going on? There are a variety of factor’s driving the bitcoin freefall and cryptocurrency selloff. Part of it is a market correction. Part of it is a response to regulatory concerns. India appears ready to ban cryptocurrencies as a payment mechanism. (Reuters). Meanwhile, Facebook is cracking down on coin promotions and the SEC and other regulatory agencies are in the midst of investigations.
Be smart: As the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets mature, there’s going to be more regulatory action and news. This is the nature of an emerging industry. On Tuesday, for example, there’s a Senate hearing on what the oversight role for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should have on “virtual currency.” At some point, the market won’t show the same volatility to regulatory intervention that it does now. But nobody knows when that moment will arrive.