Investing.com - Bitcoin fell on Wednesday in Asia but maintained above the $8,000 level.
Bitcoin fell 2.8% to $8,187.9 by 1:36 AM ET (05:36 GMT). The crypto king fell below the $8,000 level on Friday, losing about 20% of its value last week.
A disappointing launch of Bakkt was cited as a major headwind for the digital coin, according to Binance’s research team.
“One possible reason, explaining Bitcoin’s price drop, could be the general indifference towards the much-hyped release of Bakkt, as BTC prices dropped over $1,000 a day or so after trading began,” they explained, further adding that this could be a “buy the news, sell the rumor phenomenon,” the research arm of Binance said.
Prior to its launch, Bakkt’s physically settled Bitcoin futures product was thought to be a potential major catalyst for next major BTC bull run, but the platform’s low trading volume so far suggested that its impact on the crypto markets are far less than expected.
Meanwhile, U.S. senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her negative stance towards Facebook’s Libra project.
“What would really “suck” is if we don’t fix a corrupt system that lets giant companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) engage in illegal anticompetitive practices, stomp on consumer privacy rights, and repeatedly fumble their responsibility to protect our democracy.”
Warren wrote in a tweet posted on Oct. 1.
The Libra project, which was revealed by Facebook in June, faced regulatory scrutiny and scepticism from European regulators and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Other major crypto prices also slumped today. Ethereum was down 4.7%, while XRP and Litecoin both lost 5%.