Bitcoin’s price has fallen to its lowest level since October 2017. The cryptocurrency is worth $5898 (approximately £4480) at the time of publication, according to the Coinbase exchange. That’s an eight-month low.
Bitcoin is notoriously volatile, but its value has fluctuated even more wildly than normal over the past week. The graph below shows just how unpredictable it can be.
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The cryptocurrency had been worth more than $7500 (approximately £5700) at the beginning of the month, but two high-profile hacks sent its value spiralling downwards.
Coinrail, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, was targeted by cybercriminals in mid-June, and Bithumb, another South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, was raided around a week later.
Only around $70 million worth of tokens were reportedly stolen as a result of the hacks, but this might have been enough to panic Bitcoin holders into selling up.
Perhaps predictably, 90 of the top 100 digital currencies by market capitalisation have fallen in value over the past 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.
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Bitcoin is still the most high-profile cryptocurrency, and when its price drops, other like Ethereum and Litecoin tend to follow suit soon after.
2018 has been a pretty terrible year for Bitcoin holders, after the highs of late 2017. It had been worth more than $13,400 at the beginning of January. Just two weeks before that, it had been worth over $19,200.
Are you a cryptocurrency holder? Does any of this surprise you? Share your thoughts with us @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
