LONDON — The price of bitcoin is falling on Tuesday morning,
after big gains over the last few days.
Bitcoin
is down over 4% against the dollar to $4,147.93 at the time
of writing (11.00 a.m. BST/6.00 a.m. ET).Markets
Insider
The dip follows several days of big gains and record highs.
Bitcoin broke through $4,000 a coin for the first time early
on Sunday morning, a new record high, and continued to rise
throughout Monday and early on Tuesday morning, peaking at
$4,339.79. Investors are likely taking some profit after the
rapid rise.
Mati Greenspan, an analyst at trading platform eToro, told
Business Insider: “Some profit taking is to be expected. Of
course, if it gets out of hand there isn’t any real support
anywhere close.”
Elsewhere, Bitcoin
Cash, the cryptocurrency that was split off from Bitcoin at
the start of the month, is also down on Tuesday. Bitcoin Cash is
down 2.20% against the dollar to $295.35 at the time of writing.
Ethereum, the other major cryptocurrency by market
capitalisation, is sliding too. Ethereum
is down 2.43% against the dollar to $291.80.
Greenspan said: “Bitcoin Cash is testing its usefulness. We
haven’t seen any sort of mass adoption of the bitcoin bastard as
of yet. Unless that changes soon it could go to nil.
“Ethereum is building a range from $200 to $300. ICOs have slowed
down so excitement has cooled as well. All things considered, it
remains the crypto of choice for developers.”