Bitcoin plumbs 2-week low amid negative sentiment

Bitcoin price slumped in spot trading on Friday, to resume its losses after a breather yesterday, to break back below the $8,000 barrier and hit a 2-week trough, as market sentiment remained negative, which is reflected in the decline of Bitcoin's dominance over the crypto market to its lowest level in 2 and a half months.

At Bitstamp exchange, Bitcoin fell by 2.7% or $219 to $7,850 (its lowers since October 7), after it opened at $8,069, with an intraday peek of $8,120.  

Bitcoin rose 1% yesterday, its first gain in 3 days, due to reaching support around $8,000.

The total market cap of cryptocurrencies lost more than $4 billion today, to around $216 billion, as Bitcoin and most other cryptos fell.

In the latest signs of the sharp drop in investment demand on Bitcoin, its dominance over the crypto market trading fell today to 66.1% (2-and-half-month trough).

The negative sentiment continued to cast its shadow over the crypto market, especially after the tepid launch of the Bakkt BTC futures platform, in addition to the lingering concerns about the regulatory hurdles in the US.

The regulatory restrictions facing the upcoming digital projects of Facebook and Telegram have also negatively affected the sentiment in the crypto market.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 9 its rejection of listing Bitcoin ETFs offered by Bitwise.

The Federal commission also stated that the fund did not meet the listing requirements, while Bitwise said it will apply again.

 Crypto experts interpreted this decision as a potential first step for rejecting other funds, which diminished the high hopes for the approval of this type of funds in order to increase interest in investing in digital assets.

Otherwise, the G7 countries issued a report that touched the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, the report said "no stablecoin project should begin operation until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks are adequately addressed".

Which made matters worse for Facebook's upcoming digital project "Libra", scheduled to launch in the first half of 2020.

Former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo, said that that regulators will increase their interventions in the crypto market due to Libra and the prospects for cryptocurrencies for central banks.

Giancarlo added that if regulators are more clear, the market will be attractive to large institutional investors, but if they are just looking to strangle projects and create obstacles, growth might take longer than expected.