Fear Makes Quick Return to Crypto Markets as Bitcoin Plunges Most in 2 Months

It’s now been more than a week since the price of bitcoin hit a two-year low at around $15,600, and questions are invariably forming on whether the market bottom is in. The largest cryptocurrency’s price has inched back up to $16,600. Price charts suggest a drop down to $13,000 is still possible, and traders in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s bitcoin futures market appear to be piling into a big “short” trade – bets on further price declines. What’s clear from the data over the past two weeks is just how much cryptocurrencies trade in sync when there’s a big market shakeout: Check out this analysis of the correlations between CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) sectors. On the other hand, the idiosyncratic drivers might be creeping back: The decentralized-exchange protocol Serum’s SRM tokens doubled in price Tuesday as key backers of the project rallied around an emergency fork in response to last Friday’s hack at FTX.