Worried That Omicron's Spread Is Getting Wider, Bitcoin Price Is In Free Fall

Bitcoin price drastically plunged in the early hours of Saturday, December 4th. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA – The price of Bitcoin drastically plunged on Saturday, December 4 in the morning. The price of the world's most prominent cryptocurrency fell 12 percent around 04:20 a.m. ET (16:00 CEST), hitting $47,495 per coin.

The extremely high volatility of the cryptocurrency saw Bitcoin further drop to as low as 41,968 late Saturday, bringing today's total loss to 22 percent.

The combination of profit-taking and macroeconomic concerns, triggered nearly a billion dollars worth of selling across all cryptocurrencies.

NBCNews also reported Ether, another popular cryptocurrency, was also down nearly 10 percent overnight.

As of Saturday afternoon, nearly 11,400 cryptocurrencies tracked by data platform CoinGecko fell more than 11 percent to $2.37 trillion. That value briefly surpassed $3 trillion last month, when bitcoin hit a record $69,000.

Cryptocurrencies began falling on Friday, December 3 following data showing that job growth slowed in the US last month and news of the omicron variant of the coronavirus continuing to spread around the world.

The broad sell-off also came as executives from eight major cryptocurrency firms were expected to testify for the first time before the US House Financial Services Committee last Wednesday as lawmakers sought the best way to regulate cryptocurrencies.

This week has been the most volatile of cryptocurrencies, not even just for cryptocurrencies, but for the market in general, as investors remain concerned about the Omicron variant.

Economic growth projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are likely to be lowered due to renewed tensions, which have led to new travel restrictions around the world.

Figures from trading platform Coinglass show nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies have been sold over the past 24 hours.

But it's not all bad news if you've toyed with investment ideas, said Justin d'Anethan, Hong Kong-based head of sales at cryptocurrency exchange EQONEX.

“If anything, this is an opportunity to buy a dip for many investors who may have previously felt left out the boat,” said d'Anethan.

“We can see Tether being bought at a premium, suggesting people are setting up cash, within the crypto space, to do just that,” he added.