Bitcoin was bleeding for three days in a row and has fallen almost 20% from record peaks on the approach to the $20,000 handle which was almost reached on Sunday, when CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) launched bitcoin futures.
The recent aggressive sales of the digital currency were due to another hack attack on a South Korean crypto-currency exchange Youbit which subsequently decided to file for bankruptcy after 17% of its assets were stolen. The exchange offered trading 10 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.
Meanwhile, negative statements from the Asian authorities added fuel to the flames. In particular, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said that bitcoin had not been proven as a credible currency, while the central bank of Singapore issued a warning against investment in cryptocurrencies.
Another reason behind bitcoin’s unlucky streak was the news that Coinbase is launching bitcoin cash trading, which immediately sparked speculation on the threat of migrating bitcoin users to bitcoin cash.
Nevertheless, after reaching a one-week low at $15567 earlier today, the digital currency attracted buyers and got back into positive territory. Now, when the bulk of these short-term negative factors is already priced in, the asset looks interesting for opening longs again, though in this market there is always a risk of abrupt price moves