Bitcoin price plummets

Bitcoin price plummets

Bitcoin is at its lowest level since February. After its historic record in March at $73,000, the queen of cryptocurrencies fell below the $57,000 mark on Friday, July 5. Several negative signals explain this fall.

1 min

The fall is the result of an influx of bitcoins on the market, those of the bankrupt Mt. Gox platform have already been sold and the German government could resell even more. Tens, even hundreds of thousands of bitcoins resold on the market in such a short time: supply exceeds demand.

There are mimicry effects “, explains Jérôme Mathis, professor of finance at Paris-Dauphine University. The slightest bit of bad news sounds like a signal that makes everyone align with it, because we must not forget that the only reason for holding bitcoin is speculation: to be able to resell it at a higher price one day. And so we are in a market logic where the slightest bit of bad news can trigger a massive drop in prices. »

Read alsoBitcoin: What is “halving”?

A value that remains high

But bitcoin could also drag other cryptocurrencies down with it. When bitcoin is doing well, all cryptocurrencies go up, when it is doing badly, they all go down. Bitcoin lost 5% in 24 hours, the second cryptocurrency Ether lost 8%, and others 10%. This can be amplified when we are going to have a big fall “, underlines Jérôme Mathis.

But there is no need to panic, the expert reminds us. Firstly, because the value of bitcoin remains high. Secondly, because UNITED STATES As elsewhere, the trend is rather towards regulation: traditional investors are rushing towards cryptocurrencies.

Read alsoIn France, cryptocurrencies are attracting a new type of investors

rf-5-general