The Bitcoin market is clearly in a downward trend, after yet another major price decline among a brutal sell-off. The sell-off was initiated after the unveiling of the Colonial Pipeline attack by hacker group DarkSide. FBI officials have managed to recover part of the $5 million ransom paid to the Russian group, seizing $2.3 million in Bitcoin after snagging a password from one of the group’s members.
There were rumors that the FBI hacked the member’s account, but officials have shut them down. The official story is that officials have recovered one of the member’s Bitcoin wallet password, with the money recovered by a recently launched task force created for that particular reason.
Of course, it stirred quite the panic in the crypto market, extending the downward spiral it has been locked in so far.
A 10% Drop
After the government announced that a total of $2.3 million in ransom money was seized in Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value experienced a 10% drop. It recovered slightly hours later, but the damage was already done. According to experts, the next support level is at $30,000, but many wouldn’t be surprised if Bitcoin went on another slide toward $20,000.
That will be the lowest level in quite a while. Just a couple of months back, Bitcoin was flying toward $70K. A series of negative tweets by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and developments such as the Colonial Pipeline attacked have spelled doom for the crypto market and especially Bitcoin’s price. All technical indicators are down, but the price is still up 12% from the beginning of the year.
On another note, Bitcoin has also been dragging the altcoin market down with it. Many coins have tanked in recent weeks, and for now, the downward trend will continue. According to experts, it will be some time before the market consolidates.
A Global Crypto Crackdown
It’s safe to say that the latest few months have been difficult for the crypto market. There’s been a global crypto crackdown that started with China calling for an end to crypto mining and trading. At the beginning of the year, Tesla CEO openly supported Bitcoin. However, he has dropped his support for cryptos since then, fueling the market’s price decline.
Concerns over the environmental impact have resulted in major sell-offs and a state of panic in the crypto community. Crypto support and trading are at an all-time high, but in terms of official support, things aren’t looking great. The crypto euphoria has worn off in recent weeks and months, but there might be a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Many experts believe that history will repeat itself. Bitcoin has been in a price decline many times so far, yet has managed to shoot back to the moon after. It remains to be seen what happens in the next period. With all the crackdowns, the next few months may be crucial. Either Bitcoin will consolidate and go back up, or the downward spiral will continue.