Seat belts on guys, because a wild ride—cryptocurrency style—has already started.
Bitcoin has been on a steady climb for weeks, but all of that ended on Thursday, when the price of bitcoin dropped to $589.80—its lowest in recent weeks—with 15.69 million bitcoins in circulation.
Market analysts believe the decline was prompted by the possibility that the United Kingdom will vote to stay in the European Union. So far, the Leave campaign still has a 3 percent lead over the Remain campaign, according to a poll ran by Democracy Institute.
Traders have linked the Brexit vote, along with fears of a possible Chinese yuan devaluation and bitcoin halving, to the recent surge in bitcoin prices. If you recall, the price of bitcoin leaped to its two-year high of $774 early this week. And this, according to CoinDesk, proves the widely-held notion that digital currencies such as bitcoin is a “safe haven” asset, which “benefits in times of macroeconomic uncertainty in which its strengths as an investment vehicle whose value is derived solely from a global market are best on display.”
BitMEX platform co-founder and CEO Arthur Hayes told the news outlet there’s a chance bitcoin will rise to $700 if the Brexit vote prevails, or it could linger at $550 if UK residents vote to remain in the economic union.
Ethereum bounces back from DAO hack
Meanwhile, bitcoin’s cousin—the ethereum—managed to bounce back from the initial shock it received following the DAO hacking.
On Thursday, the price of ether held its ground at the $15 level, the same as it was shortly after reports surfaced that close to $60 million worth of ether were lost to an attack that took advantage of a code issue.
Let’s face it, ethereum still has a lot of ground to cover before it reaches the $20 level again, but it appears that its developers’ stop-gap measure following the hack has been a huge help to bring its market cap back to the way it was before the attack.
