Bitcoin price: Cryptocurrencies drop suddenly with no explanation

Markets
Insider

The price of cryptocurrencies plunged across the board suddenly
and sharply Wednesday morning, seemingly with no clear reason to
do so.

Having been steady at around $7,350 per coin during most of
trading during both Asian and European morning hours, around 5:50
a.m. ET (10:50 a.m. BST) bitcoin
lost more than $200 in mere minutes. It took another leg
down an hour later, falling below the psychologically significant
$7,000 mark.

By midday in London (7:00 a.m. ET) the largest cryprto by market
value was trading at $6,984 per coin, a fall of 5.1% on the day.

Bitcoin was the most obvious casualty of the sudden sharp fall,
but other major cryptocurrencies including ether, Ripple’s XRP
and bitcoin cash fell even more steeply. Here’s the scoreboard:

Although the drop seems unexplained,
Tanya Abrosimova of FX Street speculates that the
introduction of a registration process for popular instant
bitcoin exchange ShapeShift may have spooked some users and
triggered at least part of the drop seen on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s selling comes after several days of strong gains for
cryptocurrencies, despite the recent rejection by the US
Securities and Exchanges Commission of several bitcoin-based
ETFs.