Bitcoin experienced a massive 15% drop while other altcoins suffered the same blow with double-digit declines accounting for much of the cryptocurrency crash on Tuesday.

The quick drop below $8,000, a price level not seen since June of this year, happened in just a little over fifteen minutes. Subsequent trading pushed the price to slightly lower than $8,000 before 3 p.m. EDT.

Ethereum mirrored the same downward move from $64 diving all the way to $55.73, further substantiating that a significant move in Bitcoin almost always correspondingly affects other cryptocurrencies.

Some analysts said that the Bitcoin plunge is purely technical, noting a support level was broken that ignited much of the selling pressure. Others point to the disappointing launch of Bakkt futures on Sunday.

Bakkt is a joint venture of ICE, Microsoft, and Starbucks that aims to make Bitcoin more acceptable as a mode of payment. The futures contract comes part of Bakkt as a way to trade Bitcoin futures in a very secure way with physical deliveries of the popular cryptocurrency. However, ICE futures disappointingly attracted only 72 bitcoin contracts at the end of the first day of its launch.

In December 2017, CME introduced futures contracts that allowed traders to short Bitcoin, which some have pointed to as the cause of much of the bear market in 2018. And, unlike the ICE futures, CME was able to garner a far better number with 5,000 contracts on their first day.

Some traders are still very optimistic with Bitcoin, tweeting that the drop is a mere price level test and that a bounce off is likely to occur. Some who have anticipated the failure of Bakkt futures and have shorted Bitcoin are reveling.

Whether or not Bitcoin will climb back up above $10,000 remains to be seen.

Libra, Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency, is also facing roadblocks for setting it in motion despite getting big backers like PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and Uber on board. EU and U.S. regulators are pursuing individual investigations against the social media giant on cases of antitrust and regulation.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin currently trade at $8622.50, $171.40 and $56.87 respectively.

Crypto currencies
Crypto currencies, despite regulatory grey areas, have been gradually making inroads into commerce in recent years with bitcoin leading the way AFP / Justin TALLIS
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