Bitcoin and other crytocurrencies have been tanking over the past week (Chart: Coinbase)

The price of Bitcoin fell to a new low yesterday after slipping beneath $10,000 for the first time since December.

Yesterday afternoon, one Bitcoin was worth about $9,280 (£6,706) – which is a long way from the peak of almost $20,000 (£14,462) it hit at the end of 2017.

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However, the price of the world’s most famous virtual coin has now rebounded and is sitting at about $11,200 (£8,096), according to Coindesk.

Hundreds of cryptocurrencies including Ripple and Ethereum have been on the slide recently, but all appear to have picked up again.


Yesterday, anyone who scrolled through the cryptocurrency price listings on CoinMarketCap was met with a sea of red.



Today, the picture is quite different.

The cryptocurrency markets have more ups and down than the Alps (Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images)

Ripple is up 28 percent, Ethereum has increased its value by 6.3 percent and more than 1,000 other coins appear to be following suit.

But before you start popping bottles, we’d advise you to listen to the party-pooping predictions of the experts at the London-based finance firm Capital Economics.

Its analysts have slammed claims that cryptocurrencies could replace traditional forms of money as ‘rubbish’ and said more pain is on the way for Bitcoin investors.

‘The bubble is bursting,’ it said in a briefing note.

‘Most people are buying Bitcoin, not because of a belief in its future as a global currency, but because they expect it to rise in value.

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‘Accordingly, it has all the hallmarks of a classic speculative bubble, which we expect to burst. Triggers for the bubble to burst could be a further crackdown by regulators or a major hacking attempt.’

‘When it will fully burst is anyone’s guess and prices could yet rise again before they fall further ahead.’

The cryptocurrency ‘bloodbath’ was prompted by fears that a global crackdown was on the way.

Investors are worried that new rules being separately prepared by Germany, France, South Korea and China could clobber the markets by making the trading of cryptocurrencies difficult or even impossible.

One expert offered a more optimistic view of the future of digital dosh.

Iqbal Gandham, UK Managing Director at the cryptocurrency retailer eToro, said: ‘This continued volatility does not mark the beginning of the end for cryptocurrencies. Many theories are circulating about the cause behind the fall, the but the reality is a correction in the market is to be expected given the rapid growth that cryptocurrencies have experienced in recent months.

‘With more investors likely to enter the market, particularly now there are lower entry points, we should expect further price volatility in the coming months. But you just have to compare the price of one Bitcoin now with its price a few months ago to see that the long-term trend is positive.’

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