Crypto Today: Bitcoin weaker below $ 11k, NEM dives -8%

The retreat from above the $ 12k mark extends into a second day today, with Bitcoin losing nearly 5% to trade below $ 11000 for the first time in three days. The move lower is mainly driven by downbeat sentiment, as the hacking incident against the Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck continues to weigh on the investors’ minds.

Moreover, mounting fears that Bitcoin could crash by 80%, as warned by experts should the Tether scam comes out to be true, also collaborates to the bearish bias seen in the spot over the last few trading sessions.

According to Omkar Godbole, Market Reporter for CoinDesk, “while bloggers have long accused Tether of creating the asset out of thin air, news reports are now speculating doomsday scenarios following a CoinDesk report that suggests the startup has broken ties with an auditor acquired to calm market fears.”

“In the press, experts have been quoted as saying that bitcoin (BTC) price could crash 80 percent if it turns out Tether is fraudulent. And though that scenario doesn't appear likely, coupled with chart analysis, it does perhaps increase the odds of a break below $10,000,” Omkar added.

Elsewhere, the Swiss Economy Minister, Johann Schneider-Ammann, was reported as saying that his country wants to be a “Crypto-Nation” while the Asian countries, including Japan, continue to introduce regulatory clampdown measures in order to curb the speculative crypto trading.  

Of all the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap traded, NEO bucks the downtrend and enjoys 5.50% gains. Ethereum drops 3.80% to $ 1169, Ripple loses 6.25% while NEM, the 10th-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, dropped 8%, according to the CoinMarketCap data. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market cap eroded to $ 558 billion, with Bitcoin’s market cap also easing back to $ 187.42 billion.