Bitcoin price declined for the second straight day, dipping just under $3,900 after targeting the $4,000 mark earlier in the day. The overall markets also posted a minor pullback but were more or less stable compared to the near-constant volatility of the past month.
bitcoin price
Chart from CoinMarketCap
The most pressing news of the day was a report that Chinese bitcoin exchange executives had been banned from leaving the country while investigators continue their investigation into now-illegal cryptocurrency trading. Elsewhere, India’s tax authority expressed concern about the large amount of capital flowing into bitcoin following last year’s move toward eliminating cash.
bitcoin price
Chart from CoinMarketCap
Nevertheless, the total cryptocurrency market remained relatively stable. After beginning the day at about $135 billion, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies rose close to $139 billion before cooling off to a present mark of $134 billion. This represents a 24-hour decline of less than 1%.
Bitcoin Price Dips Under $3,900
Yet again, the bitcoin price mustered a rally across the $4,000 threshold but ran out of steam after reaching that mark. Ultimately, the bitcoin price dropped below $3,900 Thursday morning, resulting in a single-day decline of 1%. At present, the bitcoin price is $3,887, which translates into a $64.4 billion market cap.
bitcoin price
Bitcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
The recent China-fueled downturn in the bitcoin price has sparked a new wave of “bitcoin obituaries” in the mainstream press. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon famously called bitcoin a “fraud” last week, while the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that bitcoin is “probably worth zero.” Allianz economist Mohamed El-Erian, though less grandiose than either of those statements, recently claimed that the current bitcoin price is roughly triple its true value.
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Ethereum Price Holds Above $280
The ethereum price moved just a few cents on Thursday, ending the day at $283 after briefly climbing to $290. Consequently, ethereum retains a market cap of $26.8 billion.
ethereum price
Ethereum Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Nevertheless, investors should keep an eye on the ethereum price. Developers have begun rolling out the next major protocol upgrades onto the testnet, and it is possible the mainnet deployment will initiate a short-term bullish wave.
Dash Price Swims Against the Current
The majority of altcoins posted minor price decreases on Thursday, but the Dash price swam against the current to return a 10% gain. Dash is now trading at $362, which is its highest mark since September 2. It is not immediately clear what is fueling this rally, but it was enough to propel Dash past litecoin in the rankings, making Dash the 5th-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap.
dash price
Dash Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Other altcoins were not so fortunate. Aside from Dash, every top 20 cryptocurrency declined, although the vast majority of these declines were minimal. The bitcoin cash price dropped 4%, reducing its market cap to $7.8 billion. The Ripple price fell 2%, forcing its total capitalization back below $7 billion.
dash price
Altcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap
Litecoin, now ranked 6th, posted a 2% decline but continued to hold above $50. NEM and ethereum classic each dropped 3%, while IOTA fell 4%. Monero, Dash’s privacy-centric cousin,dipped 1% to $94. NEO–once seen as a promising platform for initial coin offerings–continues to hover close to the top 10 despite China’s recent ICO ban.