Bitcoin Slips Below $4,000, EOS Overtakes Bitcoin Cash as Markets Plunge

Sunday, Nov. 25: crypto markets have suffered another crash yesterday and continuing into today, with all top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap deeply in the red, and Bitcoin (BTC) trading below $4,000.

crypto markets are seeing a massive decline of at least 10-15 percent. Stellar (XLM) has suffered the most, down over 20 percent, and trading at $0.14 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap.

Market visualization from Coin360

Yesterday, Nov. 24, Bitcoin plunged below the $4,000 price point, breaking the threshold for the first time since September 2017. Today, the major cryptocurrency has dropped even further to as low as $3,585 before stabilizing at around $3,800.

As of press time, Bitcoin is trading at $3,835, down just under 10 percent over the past 24 hours.

The biggest cryptocurrency is down more than 32 percent over the past 7 days. Before facing the first massive sell-off this month on Nov. 14, Bitcoin was trading stably around $6,300, which is up about 40 percent from its current price.

Bitcoin price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Major cryptocurrency EOS (EOS) briefly overtook Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in terms of market capitalization, becoming the fourth largest coin and following third top altcoin Ethereum (ETH). Meanwhile, Bitcoin Cash is suffering some of the biggest losses, down around 19 percent over the day. Trading around $165, the cryptocurrency is down more than 56 percent over the past 7 days.

Top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Source: CoinMarketCap

Total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies dropped below $130 billion yesterday evening for the first time since mid-September 2017. At press time, total market cap is hovering just over $120 billion, daily trade volume accounts for around $19 billion. Bitcoin’s market share now accounts for 54.5 percent.

Total market capitalization chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Muneeb Ali, CEO of decentralization-focused blockchain project Blockstack PBC, has recently tweeted that the industry is entering a “crypto winter,” urging that there is “no need to deny or downplay it.” The blockchain expert has predicted that crypto investments “will likely dry up,” causing shutdowns of projects in the industry. However, the current state of the market is “far from the end,” with the “next wave” expectedly bringing a “bigger market,” he said.

Earlier this week, U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioner Hester M. Peirce provided a pro-crypto statement, claiming that regulators “need to be willing to open the doors a little bit wider for innovation.” Speaking in an interview Nov. 20, Peirce declared that she “reject[s] the role of gatekeeper of innovation,” and argued that this role is “very different” from the genuine mission of developing “efficient markets,” as well as protecting investors.

As Cointelegraph reported today, former Goldman Sachs exec turned crypto exec Mike Novogratz stated that crypto markets will “start moving again next year.” The founder of crypto bank Galaxy Digital told reporters that a “flip” in prices would likely be instigated by major financial institutions entering the crypto space – giving the Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt and Fidelity’s plans to open crypto trading as examples.