The flagship cryptocurrency had spent most of the morning trading near $8,750, but a sudden surge in volume catalyzed a precipitous rally shortly before noon ET. Bitcoin quickly rallied past $9,000 – the first time it had crossed that market since early May 2018 – setting a new 12-month high at $9,096 on crypto exchange Bitstamp.
Unfortunately, the bears swiftly beat back the advance, and the rally stalled within minutes of eclipsing the $9,000 mark.
The bitcoin price suffered a brutal dump, and by 12:22 pm ET, BTC had careened as low as $8,589 – a decline of $507 or nearly 6% from its daily high.
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This is a developing story; check back for further updates and analysis.