Bitcoin plunged to as low as $8,750 on Monday morning, according to data obtained from coinmarketcap, before it rebounds to around $8,826, by 8.30am, Nigerian local time.
Bitcoin and other digital coins recorded similar falls, with most major digital coins losing between 5% and 10%, and losing more than $10 billion from the total cryptocurrencies market value.
The specific cause for this sell-off was not clear, although the cryptocurrency market appeared to be affected by old bitcoin tokens worth about $500,000 moving for the first time in years.
What you need to know about Satoshi Nakamoto: Bitcoin was created in 2008 by an unidentified individual or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2009. The source code was released as open-source code. The coins are designed as a reward for a process known as mining.
(READ MORE: Why Nigerians’ are attracted to bitcoin)
“While it is unclear if it was [bitcoin’s mysterious creator] Satoshi Nakamoto, it is likely to be a very early-stage adopter of the crypto-asset, and the timing of the rumors themselves appear to be the source of yesterday’s flash crash,” eToro market analyst, Adam Vettese wrote in a note to investors.
Also bitcoin’s price pattern showed a mixed picture with one widely-respected cryptocurrency analyst, Quantum Economics’ founder Mati Greenspan, warning that the bitcoin price could plunge a lot further.
“We’re now sitting at the top of a long-standing wide range, the bottom of which could easily be $6,000 or even $4,000 per bitcoin,” Greenspan wrote in a note, adding that he thought there was “a fair chance” of the market turning around and “blasting through $10,000” per bitcoin.
