Bitcoin price: can Ripple, Ethereum and bitcoin recover before Christmas?
Expert claims bitcoin has ‘very significant role to play’ in financial world despite forecasts of further declines
Bitcoin and rival cryptocurrencies Ripple and Ethereum are slowly recovering after values once again fell to new lows over the weekend.
The price of a bitcoin dipped below the $3,200 (£2,535) mark on Saturday afternoon, before inching back up to almost $3,300 (£2,615) as of 9am this morning, according to figures from ranking site CoinMarketCap.
Ripple jumped from lows of $0.28 (£0.22) per coin on Saturday to $0.30 (£0.24) on Monday morning.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, Ethereum slumped to $82.83 (£65.65) on Friday - a new record low for 2018 - but made significant gains over the weekend. As of this morning, the virtual currency was priced at almost $87 (£69).
Jeremy Allaire, co-founder of money transfer app Circle, told CNBC that the continuing downward trend of cryptocurrency values might be down to falling profits from mining - where powerful computers are used to unlock more virtual tokens.
However, Allaire insisted that bitcoin has “a very significant role to play” in the financial world, and that the growth of new virtual currencies using bitcoin’s blockchain - the technology that underpins the token - may bring back some of the investors who cashed out during 2018.
Bitcoin is “certainly going to worth a great deal more than it is today”, he added.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The digital currency and its rivals look unlikely to rally much before Christmas, though.
According to market news site FXStreet, cryptocurrency value analysis suggests that “the bottom is not reached yet” for bitcoin and that prices must continue to climb at a steady rate if further sell-offs are to be avoided.
FXStreet’s predictions have been echoed by cryptocurrency website Bitcoin Exchange Guide, which notes that the cryptocurrency market remains unstable.
-
The six-seven meme that has taken over the worldIn the Spotlight With roots in rap and basketball, the phrase has young people obsessed, and it could be here to stay
-
Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
-
A journey through Trinidad’s wild heartThe Week Recommends Experience the island’s natural wonders, from watching baby turtles hatch to visiting an ancient bat cave
-
Bitcoin braces for a quantum computing onslaughtIN THE SPOTLIGHT The cryptocurrency community is starting to worry over a new generation of super-powered computers that could turn the digital monetary world on its head.
-
The noise of Bitcoin mining is driving Americans crazyUnder the Radar Constant hum of fans that cool data-centre computers is turning residents against Trump's pro-cryptocurrency agenda
-
What Trump's win could mean for Big TechTalking Points The tech industry is bracing itself for Trump's second administration
-
Network states: the tech broligarchy who want to create new countriesUnder The Radar Communities would form online around a shared set of 'values' and acquire physical territory, becoming nations with their own laws
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrencyUnder The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
-
2023: the year of crypto instabilityThe Explainer Crypto reached peaks — and valleys — throughout 2023
-
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty: where does crypto go from here?Today's Big Question Conviction of the 'tousle-haired mogul' confirms sector's 'Wild West' and 'rogue' image, say experts
-
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in the BahamasSpeed Read