Earlier today,
Bitcoin's (BTC) price dipped below the US$8,000 mark, entering the US$7,000 region for the first time since mid-April. Traders had expected the
Blockchain Week and the Consensus 2018 event in New York City – the largest cryptocurrency conference in the world – to push the digital currency markets upwards throughout May. However, the downtrend of bitcoin after falling below a key resistance level at $8,200 was too strong for the world’s number one cryptocurrency to regain any sort of momentum and quickly bounce back.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped below US$700 and is currently trading US$673.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has lost over 10% in overnight trading, with similar downward trends being exhibited by the other major crypto coins.
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This week’s slump is by no means extreme by crypto standards, but the market’s resistance to Blockchain Week’s fervency highlights one of the arguments often used by virtual currency pessimists – that most people who are willing to buy the coins have already come on board.
While the crypto bulls point to a vast pool of pent-up demand from professional money managers, it’s far from clear that regulations in the US and elsewhere will evolve in ways that attract institutional investors. Many Wall Street pros have dismissed the market as a speculative bubble, while Warren Buffett recently likened Bitcoin to ‘rat poison squared.’
This week’s losses may have been the result of unrealistic expectations surrounding Consensus 2018, said
Sunny Lu, the CEO of blockchain-based logistics company
VeChain Tech and one of the conference speakers.
“The quality of projects and speakers were not really as good as expected,” Lu said. “I guess people just got disappointed.”