Crypto Crash: Why Bitcoin fell below $50K
Bitcoin plunged to a low of US$46,000 on Saturday after sitting at a comfortable US$57,000 a day before. BTC hit nearly US$59,000 on Wednesday before the big drop that ended the week.
Other digital coins like Ethereum also experienced a decline over the weekend with the total market falling from $2.6 trillion on Friday to $2.07 trillion on Saturday.
Several factors have been highlighted as possible influences on the market crash over the weekend, with investors wishing to reap the profits ahead of the holiday season sitting as a likely large contributor. Growing governmental concerns towards cryptocurrency may have also contributed to the market drop, as comments on crypto regulation in the U.S. by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler were released, as well as the Biden administration signing an infrastructure bill last month that showed potential tax ramifications for crypto investors.
Alongside these concerns, the uncertainty of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant can also be said to have played a part in the attitudes of investors as it has already started to impact economic markets globally.
Earlier rises of Bitcoin during November to US$68,000 had experts predicting the currency would surge over US$100,000 before the end of the year. These predictions have now been pushed to expect such a landmark to be achieved within the next two years.
