Bitcoin prices fell to a year-low today, falling below US$30,000 for the first time since 2021, before rallying late.
After reaching an all-time high of $63,000 in April, Bitcoin has since lost half of its value, currently trading at just over $32,000 at 8:30 a.m. AEST this morning.
After a series of confidence-sapping headlines from China, where a central bank crackdown on trading and mining is underway, the cryptocurrency briefly fell below the symbolic $30,000 mark.
Bitcoin, which has lost nearly 20% this week, and other cryptocurrencies have declined precipitously over the last seven days.
Ethereum has lost 26% in the last week, but Dogecoin has lost 41% as of this morning.
Willy Woo, a cryptocurrency analyst, said it was improbable that Bitcoin would suffer a 2018-style crash, in which it lost roughly 75% of its value in a year.
“We are not in a bear market at the moment,” Mr Woo told CNBC.
“Only traders are alarmed by technical indicators such as volume and price action seen on exchanges.”
China’s power grab has injected uncertainty into cryptocurrency markets. China is home to more than half of the world’s Bitcoin miners.
China’s central bank has suspended mining operations and informed major payment platforms and lenders that cryptocurrency trading will not be tolerated.
The intensified crackdown is also intended to bolster China’s state-backed digital yuan initiative, which authorities intend to implement in order to control money flows.
Concerns about the environmental impact of mining coins and increased government scrutiny have shattered confidence globally.
