Prices continue to tumble. With a bitcoin price of less than EUR 6,500, a market capitalization of just over EUR 100 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of just under EUR 6 million, it is not only Bitcoin that is in the red.
Not only the Bitcoin had feathers. A similar trend can be seen in the other leading cryptocurrencies. The Ether currently stands at 661 Euro, Ripple at 64 Cent. Bitcoin is thus at the same level as at the end of November. A glance at the crypto ecosystem reveals an overall negative picture that explains the uncertainty of many investors.
Negative signals
Since yesterday, for example, customers of the U. S. financial services companies JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America are no longer able to use their credit cards to buy crypto currencies. Due to the high volatility of cryptographic currencies, the leading financial institutions in the USA decided to allow their customers to purchase only by debit card, where the amount is debited directly.
Goldman Sachs voices also emerged, aggravating the negative sentiment towards Bitcoin & Co. As we reported, Goldman Sachs' annual report did not read anything positive about the cryptographic currencies. With the current downtrend in connection with the above-mentioned news, it is no wonder that many want to hedge their profits and are waiting for the right moment for a new entry.
But it was not only outside the crypto-ecosystem that there were problems. In this context, the declining confidence in the stock markets deserves special mention. In addition to the recurring security gaps, there have been problems with Tether and Bitfinex, so it is unclear whether Tether, which is allegedly linked to the US dollar, is actually covered by enough Fiat money.
Ultimately, these factors result in frightened investors tending to withdraw their money, while little new capital flows into the ecosystem. A lack of confidence in the stock markets and negative reports from the established financial sector are deterring new investors and tempting many of them to leave the market and wait for the right moment to start again. At times, the stock markets were also so overloaded that they did not allow new registrations, but most of them have now settled in again.
The fall of the Bitcoin exchange rate does not change its value.
The current signals are, of course, unattractive for short-term investors in particular - but the current dip also offers the much-cited opportunity. Also, the current exchange rate development is not to be equated with the value of the crypto currencies. If one remembers the original idea of the Bitcoin as a decentralized payment system, the current crash will not change its fundamental value. As a decentralized alternative to the traditional financial system, Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology will continue to gain acceptance. In this way, occasional setbacks - especially due to external factors - cannot be avoided at all.
What is also becoming increasingly obvious is that stock markets need to develop better, and above all safer, in order to give more confidence. Ultimately, an important basis for a more stable cryptographic market is only provided by a safer ecosystem that neither deters new investors nor frightens off existing users.