$800 in 1 Hour: Bitcoin Price Drops Big to Near $9K

Bitcoin's price nearly hit $9,000 on Thursday, a move that came hours after the cryptocurrency briefly went back above $10,000.

According to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), the price hit a low of $9,075.87 before recovering. At press time, the cryptocurrency's value is hovering around $9,287.00. The development is a notable one, coming roughly a day after the market saw a $1,000-plus drop during afternoon trading.

Observers attributed Wednesday's move to several factors, including issues at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, a warning from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about exchange compliance and a report from the trustee of Mt Gox revealing that some $400 million in bitcoin and bitcoin cash had been liquidated over a several-month period.

It's less clear what drove today's market move. Indeed, some speculators on social media suggested that the price could test lower levels, with some predicting a slide to as low as $7,000. Should bitcoin's price fall below $9,000, it would represent the lowest level since Valentine's Day on February 14, market data shows.

Additional information published by cryptocurrency information provider OnChainFX shows that all of the top-10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are down today. Of those, cardano and bitcoin cash have dropped the most in the past 24-hours, falling by 8.59 percent and 6.95 percent, respectively.

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