The bloodbath
in the digital currency market showed no sign of abating, with all major coins
trading in the red Wednesday.
In the past
24-hours, a further $25 billion has been wiped off the total value of all
cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, the world’s biggest digital currency, which
reached its lowest level since Feb. 5. A single bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.42% traded to an
intraday low of $6,133.31 and has since bounced to $6,280.18, down 3.8%, since
Tuesday 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken Exchange.
The total value
of all cryptocurrencies dipped below $270 billion in late afternoon New York
trading, the lowest level since April 11, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The move lower
came after a research report found data that it said suggested the price of
bitcoin may have been manipulated in late 2017.
Tether
accused of manipulating bitcoin
In the
University of Texas paper, researchers said they uncovered data that they
believe shows Tether, a stable coin that is pegged to the U.S. dollar, was used
to artificially push up the price of bitcoin during its late 2017 rally towards
$20,000.
“Less than 1%
of hours with such heavy Tether transactions are associated with 50% of the
meteoric rise in bitcoin and 64% of other top cryptocurrencies,” wrote John M.
Griffin, a finance professor and Amin Shams, a graduate student.
Questions have
surrounded Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex, which were both subpoenaed by the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission in 2017 seeking data on Tether and its
backing of U.S. dollars.
Today’s
findings will bring the 11th most traded cryptocurrency back into the
spotlight.
“Overall, we
find that Tether has a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. Tether
seems to be used both to stabilize and manipulate bitcoin prices,” they said.
In an email to
MarketWatch, Bitfinex said “All Tethers (USDT) that are generated are the
result of market demand, with every USDT in circulation fully backed by USD
reserves. Neither Bitfinex nor Tether is, or has ever, engaged in any sort of
market manipulation—such as what this paper alleges.”
Altcoins
slump further
Altcoins, or
coins alternative to bitcoin suffered hefty losses Wednesday. EtherETHUSD, -2.40% after trading above
$1,000 in early 2018, has slumped below $500, last trading at $468.95, down
4.5% on the day. Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, -2.45% is back below $1,000,
trading down 4.4% at $825.60, Litecoin LTCUSD, -3.01% is under $100 at
$92.21 and Ripple’s XRP XRPUSD, -2.67% is down 5.8% at
52 cents.
Bitcoin futures
had another rough day. The Cboe June contract US:XBTM8 finished down 4% at $6,276.11,
while the CME June contract BTCM8, -0.98% closed the day down
3.7% at $6,270.
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