Bitcoin Breaks $12,000 Before Plunging, Crypto Markets Turn Downward

Wednesday, Aug. 7 — Most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting moderate losses on the day by press time, as Bitcoin (BTC) briefly broke the $12,000 mark and subsequently fell.

Market visualization courtesy of Coin360

Bitcoin price is currently down 0.67% on the day, trading at $11,673, according to Coin360. Looking at its weekly chart, the coin is up by about 17.27%.

Bitcoin 24-hour price chart. Source: Coin360

As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, the correlation between Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, and physical gold has almost doubled in the past three months.

While the seminal cryptocurrency is down today, it has been in a general uptrend for the past several months, as more investors are using it as a hedge or safe haven from financial instability fomented by geopolitical tensions.

Ether (ETH) is holding onto its position as the largest altcoin by market cap, which currently stands at $23.8 billion. The second-largest altcoin, Ripple’s XRP, has a market cap of $13.1 billion at press time.

Coin360 data shows that Ether has seen its value decrease by about 2.4% over the last 24 hours. At press time, Ether is trading around $224.47. On the week, the coin is up almost 4%.

Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

XRP is down by about 2.64% over the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around $0.311. On the week, the coin is down about 3%.

XRP 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Among the top 20 cryptocurrencies, the one reporting the most notable price movements is Binance Coin (BNB) which is up about 5.82%. At press time, the biggest loser among the top 20 coins is Litecoin (LTC), which is down 6.89% on the day to trade at $89.22.

At press time, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies is $297 billion, according to Coin360.

In traditional markets, the United States stock market is seeing slight losses so far today, with the S&P 500 down 0.67% and the Nasdaq down 0.38% at press time. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), on the other hand, has gained 2.78% on the day at press time.

Major oil futures and indexes are seeing losses today, with WTI Crude down 4.53%, Brent Crude down 4.26% and Mars US down 2.36% at press time. The OPEC Basket is down 1.37% and the Canadian Crude Index has lost 46.45% over the 24 hours by press time, according to OilPrice.com.