On Thursday (11 October 2018), Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, dropped over five percent in 30 minutes, falling below $6,200 for the first time since mid-August.

According to data from CryptoCompare, around 00:50 UTC, Bitcoin was trading at $6,535. Just 30 minutes later, it had dropped over 5.2% to $6,191. Here is the one-day chart:

If you look at the one-month chart below, you will see that this the first time that the Bitcoin price has dropped below $6,200 since 15 August 2018:

At press time, the BTC price has recovered slightly to $6,284, still down 4.23% in the past-24 hour period.

Until just five days ago, Bitcoin’s price volatility was so low that a few people in the crypto space were making the joke that Bitcoin has become the latest stablecoin, with Bloomberg reporting that Bitcoin had hit an inflection point with volatility at a 17-month low.

According to MarketWatch, on 9 October 2018, Rob Sluymer, Head of Technical Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, issued the following warning in a recent research note:

“Investors should remain patient and wait for evidence of an improvement in ‘trend’ before increasing exposure. A move above the September real and relative highs remains the key resistance/reversal level that will need to be exceeded to signal the early stages of a trend reversal.”

The negative sentiment in the crypto markets extends beyond Bitcoin, of course, with all top 30 cryptocurrencies currently in the red, with Ethereum (-11.5%), XRP (-13.52%), Bitcoin Cash (-12.73%), and IOTA (-13.25%) suffering some of the biggest losses.

Over at crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, the action was fast and furious:

It would be both hilarious and amazing if the $6K lows hold even as @BitMEXdotcom liquidated 1/3 of a TRILLION dollars worth of bitcoin contracts. #bitcoin $BTChttps://t.co/fsT9vjZzSQ pic.twitter.com/yfEIVbr8YB — Ðan Ξmmons 🐺⚡ (@Emmonspired) October 11, 2018

Good thing your orders are going through and you can buy the dip on bitmex right?… Oh wait… pic.twitter.com/jFrFlHufbb — Flood [Deribit] (@ThinkingUSD) October 11, 2018

Crypto trader and technical analyst Alex Krüger offered the following perspective on today’s Bitcoin price action:

Strictly from a charting perspective, today's strong break down (following consolidation and volatility at the lows since 2016) calls for continuation lower. Diminished participation (i.e. low volume) makes it easier for interested parties to push price around. $BTC #crypto pic.twitter.com/eA67q3s3H8 — Alex Krüger 🇦🇷 (@Crypto_Macro) October 11, 2018

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