The controversial cryptocurrency has entered the new year on shaky ground, dropping to a near one-month low of $13,132 against the dollar hours after global markets opened for their first day of trading in 2018.
Bitcoin futures also took a dive on Tuesday morning and were trading 7% lower.
Over the past year, the value of bitcoin has soared more than 1,300% against the dollar climbing from $1031 to $13,860. However, it has had a tumultuous time over the past several weeks, stoking rising fears of the currency’s unpredictability and near-term stability.
After touching a record high just shy of $20,000 in mid-December, the cryptocurrency tanked 25% days before Christmas, plummeting to a low of $12,504 (£9,345). In the ensuing days, its value has continued to steadily decline, dropping from $15,745 on Boxing Day all the way down to $13,860 on New Year’s Eve.
The cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise over the past year and the hike in the number of initial coin offerings (ICOs) has prompted many investors to re-consider the digital coin. Some have even argued that it should be seen as an alternative asset class in its own right.
Sceptics have argued that bitcoin is far too volatile to invest in, dubbing the cryptocurrency craze the Dutch “tulip-mania in the digital world”.
