Breaking: Bitcoin crashes below $10,000, loses over 5% in a matter of minutes

Breaking: Bitcoin crashes below $10,000, loses over 5% in a matter of minutes

The first cryptocurrency has lost over $700 in less than half an hour with no apparent reason. At the time of writing, BTC/USD is changing hands at $9410, down 7% since the start of the day, and still mostly unchanged on a day-to-day basis.

As the fundamental reasons for the sell-off are not readily available, the move might have been triggered by speculations and intensified by technical factors.

Bart Simpson’s pattern is visible on the 1-hour chart. It is characterized by its sudden price increase, followed sideways movement, and a sudden crash. As the theory goes, the pattern is a result of a price manipulation technique implemented by whales or institutional players to to catch out retail traders.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart