Bitcoin Prices Slide Below $17,000 After Coinbase Fiasco

Bitcoin prices dipped below $17,000 today as investors weigh what's next for the crypto community. Coinbase added Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to its exchange yesterday (Dec. 19, 2017), earlier than the crypto community had expected.

Now, some investors are suspicious…

BCH prices climbed from $1,320 on Dec. 11 to $2,199.06 on the morning of Dec. 19, without much news to account for the rising prices. This raised questions if Coinbase employees had engaged in insider trading, knowing the BCH would eventually be listed.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong responded to the allegations.

"Given the price increase in the hours leading up to the announcement, we will be conducting an investigation into this matter," Armstrong said in a statement.

Armstrong went on to say that he wouldn't hesitate to terminate employees who violated Coinbase's policies.

Meanwhile, Litecoin founder Charlie Lee announced he has sold all of his holdings in the cryptocurrency that he established in 2011.

However, he did say that he was keeping a few physical crypto coins as souvenirs. For more on Lee's statement and its impact on Litecoin, read our recent recap of the announcement right here.

Below is a recap of the top cryptocurrency prices at 2:30 p.m. EST.

• Bitcoin: $16,928.30, -7.86%
• Ethereum: $819.37, -2.85%
• Bitcoin Cash: $4,090.48, +68.33%
• Ripple: $0.762, -5.95%
• Litecoin: $321.52, -9.76%

Now that we know all of today's price movements, here's what has been moving these cryptocurrencies…

Cryptocurrency Markets Today

On Wednesday, the market capitalization of the global cryptocurrency sector hit $623.72 billion. Bitcoin now comprises 45.5% of the global cryptocurrency market.

Top performers from the largest 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Verge (up 78.98%), Bitcoin Cash (up 68.33%), Bitcoin Gold (up 40.86%), Siacoin (up 39.45%), Dash (up 33.1%), Walton (up 27.87%), Bytom (up 21.59%), Ark (up 17.48%), and Monero (up 16.64%).

The worst performers from the top 50 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization included Cardano (down -14.33%), Stratis (down -12.79%), Binance Coin (down -2.16%), Status (down -12.14%), TRON (down -12.05%), and OmiseGo (down -10.71%).

Must See: Never Miss a Cryptocurrency Profit Opportunity

Bitcoin Futures for All

Add another major U.S. exchange to the list of organizations looking to cash in on Bitcoin.

NYSE Arca has issued a filing to the SEC requesting a rule change that would allow two exchange-traded funds to be listed and track Bitcoin futures.

Trading exchanges across the globe have been looking to attract institutional investors into the Bitcoin craze. This month, both the Chicago Board of Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange listed Bitcoin futures for the first time.

Exchanges in Europe and Japan are also seeking to add Bitcoin futures trading in the weeks ahead.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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