Bitcoin is getting smoked as the crypto market eyes its lowest level of the year

pulse

June 22, 2018 3:02 PM

The price of bitcoin was gunning for a year-to-date low Friday morning, according to Markets Insider data.

The crypto was trading at $6,144 a coin at 9:48 a.m. ET.

Bitcoin was eyeing its lowest level of the year Friday morning, according to Markets Insider data.

The coin, which soared close to $20,000 at the end of 2017, was trading down 8.6% at $6,144 as all of the major cryptos were under pressure. Ethereum was trading down 11% at $467 a token while bitcoin cash, a spin-off of the original bitcoin, was trading down 13% at $751 a coin.

As for bitcoin, it hit its 2018 low of $5,922 in February. In total, the entire crypto market has shed half of its value since the beginning of the year, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The market for cryptocurrencies has been under pressure throughout much of 2018 following a massive bull-run last year, which was triggered by the launch of bitcoin futures, a derivatives product. Many thought those products would legitimize the nascent market and precipitate the entrance of institutional money into the space. For the most part, asset managers and other large investors have stayed away from the volatile market, which is not for the faint of heart.

Still, the market has attracted major Wall Street trading firms and high-frequency traders such as DRW and Jump Trading. Goldman Sachs is working on a crypto trading desk.

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