Bitcoin Falls Below the $7,000 Mark

The bad news for the bitcoin continues to spread as the currency has fallen below the $7,000 mark for the first time in months. The bitcoin went down to around $6,800 at 3pm EST.

This marks the lowest total for the currency since the middle part of November. The currency had been rising in value over time, getting as far as up to $20,000 after a while.

The decline is part of a massive downfall in the currency’s value over the past month.

The bitcoin had been listed at around $17,000 a month earlier. The currency had been working along the $10,000 market near the end of the month, but that effort by the currency to keep its value has weakened with the currency falling to more than half its value from the start of the year.

There is also a chance that the overall market cap of the bitcoin might decline below the $100 billion for the first time since mid-November. The bitcoin had a market cap of about $115 billion. This is a dramatic decline from its peak cap value of $300 billion in mid-December. This comes in spite of the number of bitcoins available on the market having increased in recent time through mining.

Potential Concerns

Although it is difficult to pinpoint the decline of the bitcoin’s value on one issue, there are several concerns that have combined in recent time to cause the bitcoin to become unpopular. These include such problems as the Bitfinex exchange having been subpoenaed. This has directly impacted one of the top exchanges in the world for online bitcoin trading activities.

China has been working hard to limit how bitcoins and other similar cryptocurrencies are traded. Cryptocurrency trading websites have been blocked around the country. New digital coins can no longer be issued in China either. Offshore exchanges have been blocked as well. These are problems that are impacting one country that had been a popular and active player in the bitcoin field.

But the recent news that various credit card companies in the United States and United Kingdom will not allow such bitcoin purchase transactions appears to have made a significant impact. The limitations on how people can acquire bitcoins are making it harder for people to actually trade them.

The immense volume associated with the bitcoin has been a factor as well. Around $8 billion is spent on bitcoin trades in the course of a 24-hour period.

Other Struggles

The bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency that is being impacted. A massive number of cryptocurrencies have also experienced significant declines in their values. These include sizeable 24-hour declines that have come about following the recent move by banks to drop credit card transactions for cryptocurrencies. Almost all of the currencies on the top hundred listing from Coin Market Cap have experienced a decline of 12 percent or more in their value over a 24-hour period as of Monday afternoon.

The total market cap of the cryptocurrency industry has fallen to around $310 billion as of Monday afternoon. That total was at $360 billion during the morning hours.