Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have been failing to return to all-time highs after the correction that wiped out almost half of the market’s value.
The largest digital currency bitcoin is trading almost 50 percent off from its $20,000 peak. After rapidly falling to the $10,000-$11,000 mark this month, the cryptocurrency has been trading flat around these numbers.
All top 20 currencies from Coinmarketcap’s list were losing on Friday after a relatively good trading session the day before. Ethereum was trading 6 percent down at $1,003; while ripple lost almost 15 percent, trading at $1.15.
“Now, when everyone is saying… ‘It’s over, that’s it, bitcoin is dead,’ for the 175th time. Now’s the time you start looking at it, on the buy side. And that money is still coming in. The flows have not stopped. This is not the end of bitcoin,” Brian Kelly, cryptocurrency hedge fund BKCM manager, told CNBC.
Litecoin creator Charlie Lee earlier noted that a bull cycle is almost always followed by a bear market.
Investors have been worried that regulators around the world will ban or make cryptocurrencies unprofitable.
According to one of the most recent reports, major Indian banks have cracked down on accounts linked to cryptocurrency trading. Such accounts have been observed for suspicious transactions. In December, the country’s finance ministry warned about the risks of trading in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, saying digital currency investments are like Ponzi schemes.
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