Bitcoin slumped briefly below $10,000 on Monday, following another weekend sell-off that saw some digital tokens plunge by more than 20%.
The largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 17% from Friday before paring its drop to 11% at $10,571 as of 11:50 a.m. in New York, according to Bloomberg composite pricing. Other highly traded coins also retreated: Ethereum declined 17% and Litecoin fell 13%.
The tumble comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized digital coins on the heels of this year’s stellar rally. Trump wrote on Twitter on Thursday that he is “not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” adding that “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.”
Read about weekends as the “Wild West” for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin “continues to trade lower as comments from President Trump put downward pressure on the cryptocurrency,” said Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. in Toronto. Drawing Trump’s ire means “it could fall further to $8,000, giving back all the gains made in June.”
Bitcoin initially climbed after Trump’s comments, but has since more than erased the gains.
Technical indicators were ominous, too. The GTI Vera Convergence Divergence indicator, which detects positive and negative trends, flashed a sell signal as Bitcoin hovered around $10,000.
Though it remains the key support line for the coin, a sustained break below that threshold could signal further losses ahead. The last time the indicator flashed a sell signal — in early June — Bitcoin dropped about 10% over the subsequent two trading sessions.
(Adds GTI Vera indicator paragraphs.)
–With assistance from Todd White, Olivia Rinaldi, Vildana Hajric, Brendan Walsh and Kenneth Sexton.
Read more at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-tumbles-trumps-critique-tests-233323153.html
