UPDATED 23:11 EST / JUNE 03 2019

BLOCKCHAIN

Bitcoin price drops as investors suffer from ‘bull exhaustion’

The price of bitcoin fell sharply Monday, dropping below $8,000 briefly after having teased $9,000 as recently as May 26.

The selloff has no clear reason, but CoinDesk at least suggested that it may be related to what it called “bull exhaustion.” The idea is that with bitcoin having risen precipitously since it broke through $4,000 in March and rising 62% in May alone, investors may have suffered from exhaustion.

Others, such as Tom Rodgers at Forbes, suggested that uncertainty in broader equity markets may be affecting bitcoin as well. While noting that cryptocurrency markets tend not to correlate with wider equity or debt markets, Rodgers noted that investors who often treat bitcoin as a safe-haven hedge, are also still trying to work out where to park their money as the U.S.-China trade war continues to heat up.

A more simple explanation, however, is that some investors have decided to take profits on recent trades.

The price fall comes as venture capitalist Jason Calacanis predicted that bitcoin’s price may eventually drop to zero. Calacanis claimed that bitcoin will be replaced by new technology and hence become worthless. “My position remains the same,” Calacanis wrote on Twitter. “Bitcoin will likely be replaced by a new technology & it’s manipulated.”

He added: “It’s possible it’s built to last, but not probable, so keep your position to an amount you’re willing to lose For most, that’s 1-5% of net worth. It will likely go to 0-$500.”

Bitcoin was trading at $8,007.43 as of 11 p.m. EDT, down almost 8% after hitting a 24-hour low $7,899.77 at 8:15 p.m., its lowest level since May 23.

The price drop was contagious, with all major cryptocurrencies reporting significant price declines. Ethereum was down 7% for the day with Ripple XRP dropping 9% and Bitcoin Cash 10%.

Image: Marco Verch/Flickr

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