The price of Bitcoin is estimated at less than USD 6,700 at the time of writing this article. Losses are also perceived in the prices of the other main cryptocurrencies in the market.
It has been observed that the Bitcoin market has suffered a notable contraction in recent weeks. Although its price has gradually receded since it reached the USD 11,000 barrier by mid-year, the current condition of the cryptocurrency’s quotations in the exchange markets contrasts with many predictions.
On December 16th alone, Bitcoin fell by USD 221.18 (-3.09%). At the time of writing this note, this setback is equivalent to -4.56% in just a 24-hour period, so its price is estimated at less than USD 6,700. The market capitalization is above USD 119,000 million, according to data from the CoinMarketCap platform. On the other hand, its trading volume in the main exchange houses in the world is equivalent to USD 385 million, according to data from Messari.
Due to the fact that the dominance of Bitcoin in the market is above 67%, this contraction in the price of the main cryptocurrency seems to have an impact on the rest of the market. Among the most demanded exchanges, the BTC/USDT pair is the most prominent on platforms such as BitForex, BKEX, Coineal and Hotbit, which account for approximately 15% of these exchanges or about USD 4 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Other major cryptocurrencies have suffered a more significant setback than Bitcoin. Among them, Ether is quoted at USD 122 (-8.8%). XRP shows the most drastic decrease in the top 10, with a value of USD 0.18, which is equivalent to almost -12%. Bitcoin Cash drops to USD 175 while Litecoin falls to USD 37. EOS and Stellar are suffering the same fate, trading at losses of -9%.
Predictions versus Facts
Despite the fact that many investors in the ecosystem predicted a notable increase in the price of crypto currencies, the market has reacted with a series of contractions, which leads to thinking that it is necessary to reassess the factors that influence Bitcoin’s current negotiations.
The new trade agreement between the United States and China, for example, could be driving the price of the US dollar, while announcing a relative calm in the yuan markets, which had been affected by the successive administrative decisions of President Donald Trump’s government. This agreement aims to double US exports to China, provided that the latter pays lower tariffs. A strengthening of the US dollar in the different world markets could have an impact on stock trades and cryptocurrency exchanges.
On the other hand, recently disclosed information about Chainalysis studies indicates that it is likely that the criminals who committed the PlusToken fraud could be manipulating the price of Bitcoin to gain advantages. According to the data of this research, those who administered PlusToken have used the victims’ funds to negotiate over-the-count (OTC) positions in exchange houses such as Huobi, which have been influencing the exchange volume over several months.
By Willmen Blanco
