A swift and sudden downturn has left the cryptocurrency market in a sea of red. In fact, fifteen of the Top 20 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap – including Bitcoin (BTC) – are reporting double-digit losses over the past twenty-four hours.

Be Careful What You Wish For

While some in the crypto community looked at Bitcoin’s recent leveling out as a sign of the crypto asset maturing, others – particularly short-term and day traders – were lamenting the lack of volatility. The stabilizing Bitcoin market meant that trading opportunities were becoming fewer and farther between – and profit margins were getting smaller and smaller.

In a move somewhat reminiscent of The Monkey’s Paw, Bitcoin volatility may be returning, but not necessarily in a good way. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped from a high of $6383.03 yesterday to a low today of $5544.09 – a loss of more than 13% – before clawing its way back up to its current trading price at press time of $5,689.26. The last time the cryptocurrency was trading this low was in mid-October of last year.

At the individual exchange level, the situation appears even more dismal. Bitstamp is showing that Bitcoin price fell to a 24-hour low of $5324.00 – a nearly 15.5% loss from yesterday’s high of $6298.47 – before inching back up.

Bitcoin Isn’t the Only One Feeling the Sting

Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency feeling the sting from this (hopefully temporary) slump. Currently, all but one of the Top 10 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap are reporting double-digit losses over the past 24 hours:

Ethereum (ETH) is reporting a loss of more than 13% and is currently trading at around $179 – it’s lowest price point since July 2017.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is reporting a loss of more than 19% – the biggest loss among the Top 10 at the time of this writing. Given last week’s run-up into $630 territory in anticipation of tomorrow’s hard fork, Bitcoin Cash holders who bought in during the upswing are no doubt anxiously watching market activity. Of course, some traders may be taking advantage of the price plunge to pick up some last minute BCH before the fork.

What are your thoughts on the return of Bitcoin volatility? Is it just a temporary drop or will prices continue to fall? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of CoinMarketCap