It wasn't that long ago that the bitcoin (BTC) price was unstoppable and climbing higher and higher by the day.
But unfortunately for cryptocurrency traders, bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrencies are now doing the exact opposite and continue to sink lower.
Here is the state of the play in the industry this morning:
The BTC price is down 17% over the last 24 hours to US$6,862.33. This has reduced the world's largest cryptocurrency's market capitalisation to US$115.6 billion.
Ethereum (ETH) has fallen a massive 22% since this time yesterday to US$657.59, leaving it with a market capitalisation of US$64 billion.
The Ripple (XRP) price has tumbled 17% during the period to just 68.3 U.S. cents. The popular altcoin's market capitalisation has now fallen to US$26.6 billion.
The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) price has been the worst performer amongst the major cryptos during the last 24 hours. The bitcoin spin off is down 23.5% and now fetching US$872.88, leaving it with a market capitalisation of US$14.8 billion.
The Cardano (ADA) price has shed 17% of its value since this time yesterday and is down to 32.2 U.S. cents. The fifth-largest cryptocurrency has a market capitalisation of just over US$8.3 billion.
Elsewhere, the Litecoin (LTC) price, Stellar Lumens (XLM) price, and NEO (NEO) price have all fallen by at least 17% during the last 24 hours.
What happened?
It appears as though the bitcoin bubble has well and truly burst following a series of negative developments in the industry.
These include government crackdowns, Facebook banning ICO advertising, price manipulation concerns on the Bitfinex exchange, and news that a number of credit card providers would not allow cryptocurrency purchases through their cards.
What now?
I see little on the horizon that would have the potential to shift investor sentiment positively. Which could mean that the selling cycle continues for some time to come, driving down the cryptos even further.
And while one day we might look back and think these were bargain prices, I wouldn't risk it. Instead, I would suggest investors sit this one out and look at some of the exciting options available on the local share market.
