Cryptocurrencies nosedive after record gains, bitcoin drops $2,000
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have failed to stay at record highs on Thursday. The market has seen a correction with digital coins falling from 17 to 30 percent.
The leader bitcoin plunged to $9,300, losing about $2,000 from record highs. Ethereum lost more than 20 percent and was trading at just above $400.
Bitcoin's decline to below $10,000 comes despite news the Nasdaq is to launch bitcoin futures in 2018.
According to analysts from CoinDesk, bitcoin could drop below $9,000. However, if bitcoin consolidates above the $10,000 mark in the next few days, the cryptocurrency leader could move to fresh record highs.
Many analysts, bankers and most of the central banks don’t recognize cryptocurrencies as money and compare it with a commodity people choose to invest and trade in.
Developments in bitcoin's price make it "a speculative asset by definition," the European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio told CNBC. "Investors are taking that risk of buying at such high prices."
“We don't have responsibility or even instruments that point to particular prices of particular assets, that is certainly not the role of the central bank," he added.
