Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple Price Drops Follow Routine Pattern

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a notable price dip across the board. According to OnChainFX, bitcoin sold for around $10,709 on Monday morning while ether tokens went for a little more than $981. Both these prices represent more than an eight percent price drop over the past 24 hours. Most cryptocurrencies are experiencing a similar decline, with tokens such as Ripple’s XRP plunging more than 13 percent over the past 24 hours.

However, to put this all in perspective, OnChainFX still estimates XRP grew 477 percent over the past month while bitcoin and ether rose 85 percent and 215 percent, respectively. Many experts see this current slump as a temporary period of market correction.

BitGo engineer Jameson Lopp tweeted statistics showing bitcoin’s track record for daily volatility over the past seven years, ranging from 0.22 percent to 1.11 percent in daily flux. So far 2018 appears to have a wider margin of oscillation, driven by broader adoption and more public awareness than cryptocurrency ever had before. Few veteran cryptocurrency experts see the current slip as unique or alarming.

Bitcoin Price Predictions: Will Cryptocurrency Fall To $1,000?

Meanwhile, traditional financial experts are becoming even more skeptical. Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, told CNBC he wouldn’t be surprised if bitcoin dropped to $3,000 or even $1,000 this year. That would be the steepest drop in the history of blockchain technology, but it's not impossible.

Bitcoin has already seen several crashes in its nine-year history. In 2013, bitcoin prices plummeted from a peak of around $1,155 on Dec. 4 to less than $459 on Dec. 18. Forbes reported bitcoin has dropped more than 50 percent in a single week, sometimes within 24 hours, on at least three times since 2011. More moderate decline, similar to current market patterns, are almost routine at this point.

CoinDesk reported announcements from the People’s Bank of China typically precede dramatic price drops. Over the past month Chinese regulators started taking a much tougher stance on cryptocurrency regulation. Then this weekend the PBOC reportedly ordered payment providers in Beijing stop facilitating cryptocurrency trading altogether.

Meanwhile, Yonhap reported South Korean authorities will collect a hefty tax from local cryptocurrency exchanges. This would bring cryptocurrency businesses in line with the rest of the Korean tech industry. According to Yonhap, Korean corporations with an annual income exceeding $18.7 million need to pay roughly 24.2 percent tax on their income, which is exactly what authorities are now asking lucrative cryptocurrency exchanges to do. Cryptocurrency expert Joseph Young described these taxes as “nothing new.” He even tweeted this move might not be one of the factors behind the price dip because individual investors aren't affected.

On the other hand, the cryptocurrency community experienced explosive growth in 2017. It stands to reason that market volatility could play out on a more dramatic scale than previous years. Just like any emerging technology, there is always the chance that bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market could crash without recovering. Yet bitcoin veteran Ari Paul, CIO at the cryptocurrency investment firm BlockTower Capital, tweeted this dip follows the usual pattern. Regulators tend to crack down when markets surge, which slows growth. “Crypto value rises sharply - it invites regulation that kicks it back down,” Paul tweeted. “Three steps forward, two steps back.”