Staff Writer
After a recent surge in the value of bitcoin the prevalent cryptocurrency declined rapidly over the weekend after its peak of 19,500 USD the currency dropped to 16,000 over the course of ten hours. The volatile currency has attracted an investment frenzy in the past few weeks; however, the lack of stability has raised questions regarding its investment value. Recently, a major gaming platform Steam run by Valve corporation decided to drop the cryptocurrency as a form of payment stating that the transaction fees associated with the currency and its recent volatility made it unacceptable.
However bitcoin’s decline doesn’t signal the end of the cryptocurrencies popularity rather a ‘healthy’ fluctuation according to Arthur Hayes, The CEO of the Hong Kong based Bitmex a bitcoin and virtual currency trading firm. A UK based market analyst echoed this stating in Reuters that the cryptocurrency frenzy is not over: “The initial bounce after this morning suggests that there is appetite for buying dips but that may not last if we don’t see the kind of rebound witnessed previously.”
The recent surge has raised concerns that bitcoin may be a ‘bubble’ that may burst in a dramatic fashion leading big banks and hedge funds to invest reluctantly. Despite Bitcoin’s decline other cryptocurrencies such as XRP have helped the cryptocurrency market continue to experience growth.
