Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ripple extend sell-off, Ethereum hits record highs

Bitcoin, the most dominant cryptocurrency extends its selling spiral into a fourth straight session on Wednesday, with the spot now meandering near Monday’s low of $ 13,760, down -7.50% so far.   

The sentiment around Bitcoin remains broadly undermined, as markets continue to doubt over its sustainability, especially after Microsoft Corporation has removed the ‘Bitcoin’ payment option from its active payment instruments. With the substantial increases in price and volatility through the last quarter of the year, the risk for companies like Microsoft appears to have increased.

This news added to the blow delivered yesterday after the widely used research site, Coinmarketcap, removed prices from South Korean exchanges without warning. Meanwhile, the latest report citing that the Chinese central bank is considering more action to stamp out cryptocurrency mining also fuelled the sell-off in the prices.

Most of the widely traded cryptocurrencies such as Ripple, Litecoin, IOTA etc. are also seen crashing, as markets believe the South Korean regulatory clampdown to be the main reason for the latest declines. On Monday, South Korean regulators inspected six major local banks, reviewing the institutions’ anti-laundering measures in connection with cryptocurrency trades. 

In contrast, Ethereum continues to ditch its rivals, rallying nearly 17% to trade near record highs of $ 1381.9. The rally is backed by the comments from its co-creator Steven Nerayoff.

Nerayoff said Monday on CNBC: "What you're seeing with Ethereum is exponential increase in the number of projects — there are billions of dollars being poured into the ecosystem right now — maybe 10 times more projects this year than last year, which could easily lead to a doubling, probably a tripling in price by the end of the year." 

Meanwhile, Tom Lee, Co-founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said in a CNBC interview that Bitcoin could ‘easily double’ in 2018, shrugging off the recent sell-off.

Lee noted: "Even on a risk-adjusted basis, I think bitcoin is going to easily outperform the S&P. On a long-term basis, [the easiest way to look at bitcoin is] as a replacement or a store of value. So as millennials discover and generate income, they're going to use it as a replacement for gold."

"We think that by mid-2018, we're going to be part of the way there, and that's why we get [bitcoin to $20,000]," he said. "If [bitcoin] can actually rise close to [that $20,000 level] in the first half of this year, I think in the second half of 2018, we'll see a move bigger than that. So I think bitcoin is still something you should own [all year], " Lee added.