Today is a bleak day for cryptocurrencies everywhere as Bitcoin hits the lowest level of the year thus far. Where Bitcoin goes, the rest of the market tends to follow, and indeed, the index shows us all the top-ten coins are experiencing double-digit losses.
Bitcoin Hits Lowest Level of the Year
Currently, Bitcoin is down over 10% and has touched a low of $5,550 a coin. This price is the weakest[1] the coin has been since October 2017 and also puts an end to what was the steadiest period the coin experienced in months. Bitcoin has been trading comfortably around the $6,400[2] range for the majority of Autumn and volatility was at an all-time low.
The market is placing the blame on tomorrow’s Bitcoin Cash hard fork[3] for the selloff across the exchanges today. As stated, the damage is widespread, and Bitcoin Cash itself is suffering the hardest, with losses just shy of 17%. Ethereum is down -13.5% and Litecoin is down -13.05%, but the entire top-ten are hurting.
Bitcoin Cash Hard Fork
The Bitcoin Cash hard fork will result in a network being split into two different versions of Bitcoin Cash. One upgrade will follow the Roger Ver-favored Bitcoin Cash ABC protocol, and the other will follow Craig Wright’s preferred protocol, the Bitcoin Cash SV.
According to Mati Greenspan of eToro:
“Both Roger and Craig are advocating a different version of Bitcoin Cash […] The end result will most likely be a split in the network resulting in two different versions of Bitcoin Cash when both upgrades go into effect this Thursday.”
>> Japenese Crypto Exchange Coincheck Resumes NEM (XEM) Trade Ten Months Later[4]
