The cryptocurrency market is continuing to take a hit as the market capitalisation drops below $300 billion overnight amid a selloff of major coins.
Figures from CoinMarketCap show that the combined market value of all the cryptocurrencies fell to $295 billion during early morning trading hours, a figure it hasn’t seen since November last year. Out of the top five digital currencies, ethereum and litecoin have experienced the biggest drops, with over a 21 percent decline in the past seven days.
At the time of publishing, ethereum is valued at $454 and litecoin is trading at $135. Both far away from their all-time highs of over $1,400 for ethereum and more than $370 for litecoin.
Bitcoin continues to sit under the $8,000 mark, at $7,947, representing a 12.48 percent decline over the last seven days – OANDA is in currency data, offering forex & CFD trading.
According to Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, the decline is a reflection of people withdrawing their money from the industry, reports the Financial News.
He said:
After steadying we are not seeing the same optimism as before and the path of least resistance is lower not higher.
If bitcoin continues to fall in value it could end up revisiting the $6,000 levels it reached at the start of February. Not only that, but since the 200-day moving average on the 21st March, the number one cryptocurrency has dropped nearly 15 percent.
Market prices are continuing to suffer amid pressures to regulate the market. Yet, despite this confidence still remains among many that the industry has what it takes to flourish further than what it has achieved so far.
In a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Chris Concannon, president and COO for the Cboe Global Markets, made the argument that the sector could support a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP). He said that the market was ‘developing quickly’ and that Cboe expects the bitcoin futures trading volumes on the Cboe Futures Exchange and CME to continue growing.
He added:
As the volumes continue to grow, especially on regulated U.S. markets, the overall spot bitcoin market looks more and more like a traditional commodity market and Cboe continues to believe that the spot market is sufficiently liquid to support a bitcoin ETP.
It might not look like it now, but with time there are many hoping that the market switches course and takes a more favourable direction in an upward trajectory.
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