Ether, the worlds second-most valuable cryptocurrency, has been tanking since hitting a peak in mid June, highlighting an extended selloff in buzzy, digital currencies that had been on a tear only a few short weeks ago. <\/p>\n
Check out: How cryptocurrency ethereum looks set to overtake bitcoinin one chart <\/p>\n
A single ether token on Tuesday briefly slipped to a six-week low, dropping under $200 and marking a 48% decline, giving up about $17.5 billion since reaching its best-ever market capitalization of $36.7 billion on June 14, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. Most recently, one ether was trading at 202.37, down 4.3% on Tuesday, according to data from popular digital-currency data-provider Coindesk. <\/p>\n
The downdraft for ether, which powers the ethereum blockchain and is the main rival to more prominent bitcoin, is occurring amid a broad slump in the cryptocurrency universe, which had racked up dazzling, quadruple-digit gains within a short period. Ethereums ether, for example, had surged by more than 4,000% -- from $8 in January to its June peak of around $400 -- before mounting its recent pullback. <\/p>\n
Read: Wall Street laughed at a call for bitcoin at $25,000but after a 400% surge, the laughter is fading <\/p>\n
Attention from large corporations, including Fidelity Investments, and flirtations with the possible inclusion in popular trading products, like exchange-traded funds, also have helped to stimulate interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. <\/p>\n
However, worries about the speed of the advance for digital currencies, light regulation and a lack of broad usage has given many skeptics reason to call for caution in investing in bitcoin and ether, which some analysts say displays similar attributes to gold GCQ7, +0.33% viewed as a haven asset. <\/p>\n
More broadly, the combined market value of an array of digital currencies, including ether, bitcoin, and others like ripple and litecoin, are down by about 28% to $82 billion currently from $114 billion last month. Bitcoin BTCUSD, -2.91% maintains a dominant position among so-called digital currencies, but has led the way lower, off 20% since surpassing $3,000 a coin mid-June. <\/p>\n
By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.00% has tacked on 0.7%, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.08% has slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.27% has advanced 0.3% over the past month, despite a choppy trading environment marked by concerns about earnings growth and President Donald Trumps Wall Street-friendly agenda. <\/p>\n
All that said, cryptocurrencies are still holding on to sizable returns, even factoring in the recent downdraft. The question is: are they facing a brief pause in their rise, or suffering through what will become an extended period of pain? <\/p>\n
Wall Street analysts are split on the future for cryptocurrencies. Morgan Stanley analysts predict that they wont rally further unless they get governmental acceptance, including more regulation. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Fundstrats Tom Lee, a Wall Street equity strategist, says bitcoin may trade at $55,000 a coin by 2022. <\/p>\n
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More: Ether, the worlds second-most valuable cryptocurrency, has been tanking since hitting a peak in mid June, highlighting an extended selloff in buzzy, digital currencies that had been on a tear only a few short weeks ago. Check out: How cryptocurrency ethereum looks set to overtake bitcoinin one chart A single ether token on Tuesday briefly slipped to a six-week low, dropping under $200 and marking a 48% decline, giving up about $17.5 billion since reaching its best-ever market capitalization of $36.7 billion on June 14, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com. Most recently, one ether was trading at 202.37, down 4.3% on Tuesday, according to data from popular digital-currency data-provider Coindesk Continue reading
\nBitcoin rival, ethereum, has lost $17.5 billion in market value in 4 weeks - MarketWatch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"