Bitcoin price CRASH: Bitcoin suffers worst first quarter EVER as $114bn WIPED OFF value
BITCOIN suffered the worst first quarter ever since it was introduced to the markets, recording a decline higher than 45 per cent. The cryptocurrency’s price fell from $13,412.44 (£9,569.37) on January 1 to $7,266.07 ($5,184.12) on March 30.
By ALICE SCARSI
Express.co.uk
Sat, Mar 31, 2018
The previous biggest first quarter decline in Bitcoin’s price was registered in 2014, when the cryptocurrency lost near 38 per cent of its price, according to CoinDesk, a site which has been tracking the price of Bitcoin since 2011.
This dramatic fall translates into a loss of $114.9billion (£81.98billion) of the cryptocurrency’s market capitalisation.
This is not the first time Bitcoin’s performances have been in decline in the first quarter of the year.
The cryptocurrency saw a decline in 5 of the 8 first quarters since 2011.
The biggest Bitcoin’s price rise was recorded in 2013, and amounted to a 599 per cent surge.
The cryptocurrency performed particularly well last year, when it saw a huge run up in price rocketing above $19,000 in early December.
The tough regulatory scrutiny experienced by Bitcoin this year and the scepticism concerning the cryptocurrency’s reliability might have played a big role in the decline of its price.
A recent G20 meeting between finance ministers and central bank governors taking place in Buenos Aires saw Argentina’s central bank governor Federico Sturzenegger asking G20 members to come up with “specific recommendations on what to do” about Bitcoin.
The closed-door discussion saw finance ministers agreeing in including crypto assets such as Bitcoin in multilateral discussions.
Mr Sturzenegger said that this decision was taken also amid fear that cryptocurrencies could be used as a “channel for the funding of terrorism for money laundering”.
The US raised their concern regarding the possibility for criminals to use bitcoin in late January.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee that the department wanted to make sure that “consumers understand the issues surrounding cryptocurrencies”.
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