Why is Bitcoin suddenly plunging?

[Blockchainbull + 24]

I see absolutely no big catalyst for this....what's going on. All the top cryptos are falling all of a sudden. Bitcoin down to $9,500....

[msk + 42]

Binance halted withdrawals on fear of hacking rumors, apparently. 

https://safehaven.com/article/45047/What-Sent-Bitcoin-Below-10k 

[TraderTate + 182]

yeah, that's a different take than bloomberg or zerohedge had, but it makes sense. Everyone else is tying it to the SEC's statement today: 

https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/enforcement-tm-statement-potentially-unlawful-online-platforms-trading

I'm not buying it, though. It's a vague statement that says nothing new, really, does it? And why didn't crypto dive last week when everyone was talking about the SEC launching its crackdown?

[Blockchainbull + 24]

I'm sure everyone's freaking out over Binance. Nothing strikes fear in the crypto trader's mind more than an exchange playing free and loose with someone's holdings--without telling them. 

[Seleskya + 50]

The Ripple disappointment of this whole thing is another big story. Why is Coinbase giving them the cold shoulder? Ripple's been on a tear lately, too. 

[WaytoPeace + 61]

The real question is not why cryptocurrencies are falling, but why people are still willing to pay so much for them.  After all, their “value” will plunge once they are regulated and tracked, and until then they are nothing but rationalized Ponzi schemes.  

[sen + 11]

Yep, agree.  Bitcoin ethereum Al are great enablers for criminal gangs, etc.  Without the anonymity, how is it better than a credit card?

[CMOP + 223]

17 hours ago, sen said:

Yep, agree.  Bitcoin ethereum Al are great enablers for criminal gangs, etc.  Without the anonymity, how is it better than a credit card?

Here's a great article over the differences - https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/042215/bitcoin-transactions-vs-credit-card-transactions.asp 

Blockchain is the future - banking needs to evolve. 

[TraderTate + 182]

On 3/8/2018 at 6:53 PM, sen said:

Yep, agree.  Bitcoin ethereum Al are great enablers for criminal gangs, etc.  Without the anonymity, how is it better than a credit card?

Which makes PayPal's seeming new love for bitcoin odd, right? They just filed a patent that would speed up payments with bitcoin. Not too long ago they were saying bitcoin would never be widely adopted because it's too volatile and merchants wouldn't be able to handle the volatility. Now they're changing their tune, so I guess that means that merchants are ok with the volatility. If Paypal wants to speed up the process of making purchases using bitcoin ...

[Blockchainbull + 24]

but the 'catalysts' were all exaggerated, I think, largely because the crypto market is ruled by FOMO

[Missy + 42]

On 3/10/2018 at 2:11 PM, Blockchainbull said:

but the 'catalysts' were all exaggerated, I think, largely because the crypto market is ruled by FOMO

FOMO is for sure what's driving it here, I think. Crypto doesn't actually exist. Yet the values are crazy, driven by people who want to jump on the crypto train because they are scared that the train is going somewhere good and they'll be left out. The train could derail, but still, this is not a sufficient deterrent. If the train went somewhere grand and you weren't on board, you'd be kicking yourself. I, for one, am happy to wave bye-bye to the train