Bitcoin has dropped to its lowest price since April

Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest price since April 2014 following a turbulent 24 hours for the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. According to CoinDesk’s price index, the price of one bitcoin dropped to as low as $390 (£238, €303). At the time of publication bitcoin’s price remains hovering at around the $400 mark. The price crash has been blamed on a variety of factors, with some analysts citing market traders setting their lowest bound exit point at $450. When the price dipped to this point, it would have therefore sparked a mass sell-off.

After a steady decline from former, mid-year highs, bitcoin is now back under the $400 mark. The cryptocurrency hit that mark in April, at which point TechCrunch pointed out that the stuff was off 60 percent from its record highs. The price of bitcoin recovered. And then it un-recovered. Same question as before: “What next centennial mark will bitcoin reach? $300 or $500?” Last time, the answer was $500. But past has been a poor predictor for bitcoin thus far. There has been an almost-paradox at play with bitcoin this year: As adoption has increased, and the constant media cycle asking if the currency will die has slowed, its price has slipped. At $400 per coin, what percentage of mining operations are profitable? If the price of bitcoin continues to slip, dragging consumer interest down at the same time, does that present the chance of something akin to ‘deflation’ in adoption of bitcoin, that could relegate it to niche status?