TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Floods blamed as gov’t falls behind in set-top box roll-out

      24 June 2022

      Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

      24 June 2022

      Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

      24 June 2022

      Illegal strike at Eskom could make load shedding worse

      24 June 2022

      State capture probe ends but South Africa remains ‘broken’ by corruption

      23 June 2022
    • World

      Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone’s voice

      24 June 2022

      Apple, Android phones hacked by Italian spyware

      24 June 2022

      Zendesk nears buyout deal with private equity firms

      24 June 2022

      Crypto crash survivors could become ‘tomorrow’s Amazons’

      23 June 2022

      Tether to launch a stablecoin tied to the British pound

      22 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»Cryptocurrencies»Crypto crash wipes out R8.5-trillion in value in a week

    Crypto crash wipes out R8.5-trillion in value in a week

    Cryptocurrencies By Agency Staff19 May 2021
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    Virtual currencies are retreating so broadly and sharply, it’s testing the durability of the cryptocurrency boom.

    The value of more than 7 000 tokens tracked by CoinGecko has shrunk more than US$600-billion (R8.5-trillion) in the past week to $1.9-trillion. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, slid some 11% Wednesday to break below $40 000 and is now about $25 000 off its record high set in April.

    Multiple factors are at play, ranging from criticism of the environmental impact of bitcoin’s energy usage by one-time proponent Elon Musk, to the risk of a regulatory squeeze on what some have called the Wild West of investing. Digital tokens have also delivered gains so fat that some traders may have been taking profits.

    The $40 000 mark is a “critical make-or-break pivot level” for bitcoin and a decline to just below $30 000 isn’t out of the question, Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, wrote in a note.

    Here’s a snapshot of the crypto retreat:

    Market value

    Early in April, the value of cryptocurrencies breached $2-trillion for the first time, doubling in about two months on optimism institutional investors were increasingly interested. The current weakness has erased over $600-billion.

    Breaking $40 000

    Bitcoin tested its 200-day moving average, and its discount to the 120-day average is the biggest since last year, according to Mike McGlone, a commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence in New York. He sees the bitcoin price settling around the 2021 average of approximately $49 000.

    Futures

    In bitcoin futures, technicians see a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern, which could point to more weakness ahead.

    Bitcoin vs gold

    The ratio of bitcoin’s price relative to gold has dropped to the lowest since early February. That’s come amid greater caution about speculative assets as well as the post-pandemic economic recovery. Bitcoin’s proponents argue it’s a modern-day store of value, a claim belied by the token’s volatility.

    Ether trade

    After bitcoin pulled back from a mid-April high, an ongoing rally in ether — the second largest cryptocurrency — drew attention. But that has also stalled. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne, wrote in a note on Monday that he was closing a short bitcoin/long ether trade as the “dust really needs to settle”.

    Largest fund

    The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the largest bitcoin fund, is sitting on close to a record discount to net asset value. That gap could disappear if it converts as planned to an exchange-traded fund. However, risks for a wider discount include uncertainty over whether US officials will ever allow Bitcoin ETFs.  — Reported by Sunil Jagtiani, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP

    Bitcoin ether Ethereum top
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleMTN, World Bank unit partner on mobile money roll-out in South Africa
    Next Article Interview: Amazon Web Services, and how it got its start in South Africa

    Related Posts

    Floods blamed as gov’t falls behind in set-top box roll-out

    24 June 2022

    Vumacam announces big Jo’burg expansion drive

    24 June 2022

    Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

    24 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Watch | Telviva One: adapting to the requirements of business

    24 June 2022

    Huawei P50 now available for pre-order in South Africa

    23 June 2022

    Calabrio paves way for SA’s cloud contact centre WFO journey alongside AWS

    23 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.