After reaching a new all-time high of $17,600 on Tuesday, Bitcoin is down 7% today and slumping below the $16,000 level. While this correction may be normal in value after a steep rise, the decline caused a freeze on the futures trading and contracts on CBOE, which launched bitcoin futures this week on Sunday, December 10th.
Right after the launch of the futures, Bitcoin rose dramatically yet again, noting a 7% increase in price, with Wall Street bullish on the future prospects and opportunities offered by the now two-sided Bitcoin market. The price increased and hit an all-time high, on some exchanges reaching to $17, 700 per coin.
While Bitcoin has risen to new hights, it paved the way for other cryptocurrencies to climb the “ladder” as well. These include Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple. The cryptocurrency market has now a market capitalization of $400 billion, with Bitcoin accounting for more than 50% of that. While, according to Coinbase, the annual increase in Bitcoin’s value is around 1,800%, Litecoin’s growth is 4 times that of Bitcoin.
Source: Coinbase