Cryptocurrencies Off to a Slow Start as Market Corrects

Cryptocurrencies are pulling back after a stellar performance the last two months. About $35 billion has been shaved off the market in the last one week alone. Bitcoin is now trading at $9,416 on Bitfinex as it makes a slight recovery on early Monday trading.

Grayscale’s trust fund will include ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin

Total market capitalisation now stands at $437 billion according to CoinMarketCap. Although it has dipped slightly in the last few days, the market has gained over $179 billion from a total of $258 billion a month ago. The market came within reach of $500 billion on Sunday before retreating to current levels. Overall, it has lost $33 billion in the last 24 hours.

The correction is happening after a surprise surge started about four weeks ago. Market leader bitcoin has been enjoying a semblance of stability after huge price swings in the last one year.

Prices has been generally declining for much of this year with devastating losses at the beginning of February. Sustained pressure from governments, financial institutions and internet giants have dampened the market in the last few months.

Much of the market is in the red on Monday’s early morning trading. Bitcoin has lost 3% in the last 24 hours.

Market in the Red

Second-placed Ethereum has been sustaining heavier losses at 7% to trade at $725 a unit. Ripple and Bitcoin Cash which rank third and fourth respectively are treading in the same territory having lost 5.65% and 6.74% in the last 24 hours respectively.

Despite the decline, Ethereum is still trading 4% higher than it was one week ago. Bitcoin Cash is up 14.55% from 7 days ago.

EOS is the only coin in the top 10 making gains in the last 24 hours having climbed 4.85%. However, its price is still 4.76% lower from 7 days ago. Litecoin is down 5.25% and Cardano has lost 44.69% in the same period. IOTA has lost more than 5.5% just as NEO at more than 6%.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet compared investing in cryptocurrencies to taking rat poison. The current downward trend does not, however, appear linked to his assessment. All indications point to a normal market correction after a sustained rally in the last one month. Traders could also be taking their profits after the considerable gains.

The trend is also reflected in other markets. Asian stocks opened to a slow start as well. The Nikkei 225 was down 5.65% at 15.15 GMT. This comes after marked gains in the last week. North American markets are posting impressive gains of about 5%.