Bitcoin price fell to a low of $5,210, losing over $400 on the day in what is the steepest fall this this month.
A notable sell-off by investors in multiple markets including Korea, Japan and USD-trading Hong Kong saw bitcoin price drop from a day’s high of $5,648 to a low of $5,210 on Bitfinex. Bitcoin price began stumbling almost immediately after midnight leading into Wednesday as trading continued near $5,525 at 06:00 (UTC) before the big fall. Within an hour, price fell to $5,385. At 08:00, bitcoin struck a 5-day low of $5,210.
Data from CoinmarkekCap shows that bitcoin is down nearly 7% over a 24-hour period. Trading activity reveals big sell-offs in Hong Kong-based Bitfinex followed by Bithumb and bitFlyer, Korea and Japan’s largest bitcoin exchanges respectively.
While there are no clear indicators for factors behind the fall, a Bloomberg report suggests recent speculation by the US Futures Trading Commission that ICO tokens could come under its purview has pushed investors into becoming sellers. Over in China, once the world’s largest bitcoin trading market, president Xi Jinping is preparing to enter his 2nd term as president as the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party began today, the first day of a week-long gathering. China’s leader went on to address the party in a speech that lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes with big promises for China’s future. In September, Chinese authorities issued a sweeping ban on all ICO-related activity, deeming it an illegal method of fundraising.
Still, it’s speculators believe it’s entirely likely that bitcoin will shrug off the collapse in a month where the cryptocurrency began near $4,200 and went on to hit an all-time high of $5,920 last week.