As of Sunday, the value of Bitcoin stood at $ 19,666 on Bitstamp, reaching a new record for cryptocurrencies. Unfortunately for Bitcoin, the value steadily kept reducing from this astonishingly high. Bitcoin fell by more than 10 % Today, reaching an all time low of $ 15,800 at cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp. Through this fall, Bitcoin lost more than one fifth of its peak value.
Bitcoin’s monumental gains this year ensured that its price soared about 19 times. This has spurred both caution and alarm among some policymakers. Its decline since Sunday is hardly a major concern for the digital currency. In November, it tumbled almost 30% in four days from $ 7,888 to $ 5,555. In September, it fell 40% from $ 4,979 to $ 2,972. A host of financial professionals have said that at present, Bitcoin is just a typical bubble, given how small the number of transactions are, that are conducted with this particular form of cryptocurrency.
At present, the market capitalization of Bitcoin stands at $ 275 billion, a figure which is slightly bigger than Visa Inc. The market is highly inefficient with bitcoin futures trading much above cash value while the gaps of price quotes between various exchanges is also very large. Bitcoin was invented in 2009 by an individual whose identity still remains undiscovered. The booming cryptocurrencies market offers great hope, but also presents security risks and concerns.
“We do not have a formal position on blockchain currencies and cryptocurrencies at this point. Blockchain technologies operate in a way that there’s, I guess, great hope and promise. They also present some security risks and concern for us,” the White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert told reporters at a news conference held with regards to Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
According to reports, investors have started to show more interest in smaller currencies like Ether and Ripple. This is listed as one of the primary reasons for the huge fall in the popularity of Bitcoin.