Bitcoin continues to fall on sharp sell-off

Bitcoin fell in spot trading today, to continue to fall for the second consecutive day and head for giving up the $8,000 barrier once again, with increased sell-off amid negative sentiment in the crypto market, especially after the unexpected lackluster launch of the Bakkt platform.

At Bitstamp, Bitcoin fell by 3.1% or $257 to $7,986, from the opening of $8,243, with a high of $8,245.  

Yesterday Bitcoin fell by 1.6%, its first daily loss in 3 days after the suspension of its recovery attempts from a 3-month low.

The total market cap of cryptocurrencies fell by $3 billion today, to $217 billion, as Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies fell.

A research report by Binance suggested that the disappointing trading volume after Bakkt’s launch maybe a primary factor behind the recent drop for Bitcoin, due to the lukewarm and unexpected launch for the long-awaited platform.

The Bakkt platform, which is operated by the ICE Group owner of the NYSE, has traded 623 Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts in its first week, with the total trading volume rising to $5 million.

For comparison, during the first week of trading on the CME platform in 2017, 4,099 Bitcoin futures were traded with a volume of $165 million per day.

This lukewarm and unexpected launch for the long-awaited platform, reflects that institutional investors are holding back before building new positions, which is expected to continue for several days.

CME said it has no plans to launch Bitcoin futures and confirmed that its clients are currently demanding more options for the futures, which it plans to list in Q1 2020, after the regulatory approvals.