This Week in Crypto: Bitcoin Crushed as Binance Denies Raid

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – The week ended horribly for the crypto market, with several of the top coins plummeting by as much as 10%. Some sectors are attributing Bitcoin’s devastating losses to rumors of China cracking down on legitimate crypto companies.

The cryptocurrency market saw token prices dropping as Friday drew to a close. Bitcoin (BTC), which started the day trading at above $7,600, suddenly experienced a sell-off down to $7,000. It bounced off at $6,800 then moved up to $7,300, with the currency losing as much as four percent.

Bitcoin is currently down by 15% from its $8,500 weekly open. The world’s biggest crypto literally dragged the whole market down with it to red territory.

The Ether (ETH) was strangely in-sync with Bitcoin and also ended the week on a low. The top altcoin bounced off a low of $141. It manifested double-digit losses on the day before settling on its present $154 trading price. Meanwhile, XRP continues its downward spiral. It showed a loss of more than three percent and now rests at $0.232 a coin.

Traders are seeing red candlesticks for all the top coin. NEO lost big time, as it saw a loss of about 10% on the day. Huobi Token (HT) is right at its heels with a 9% loss.

The crypto market’s poor showing could be due to several circulating rumors that China is cracking down on legitimate cryptocurrency companies. Exchange platform Binance even had to refute several reports that their Shanghai offices were raided and shut down by Chinese authorities.

A spokesperson for the world’s top exchange denied the rumors of a raid and claimed Binance doesn’t have an office in Shanghai. According to the spokesperson, they have no need of offices in the communist country as the company’s numerous workers work in a decentralized manner all over the world.

Despite the crypto market’s current dire state, renowned crypto analyst and trader Crypto Rand believes it could still end in a bull run. The investor pointed out that recent events were eerily similar to what happened in 2017, and reminded people that bitcoin closed the year trading at its highest point.

Crypto Rand said China was also coming down hard on bitcoin-backed businesses then, and the media even proclaimed the end of the currency. But these events made the sector stronger and pushed it to even greater heights. The trader says it could still happen this year.

He’s not the only one with faith in bitcoin. Writer William Mougayar has predicted a $25,000 mark for the currency before 2019 ends.