Bitcoin Price Falls Sharply Lower to 12-Day Low

Bitcoin’s price (BTC/USD) has just dropped the most since mid-February, falling 5.5% to $269 on BTC-e.

The drop has sent prices to their lowest level in 12 days. During the peak of the selling, prices dropped to as low as $251, their lowest since February. In general, the past several weeks of trading have been the most stable in 2015. Even after faltering this past weekend, prices confidently recovered toward the stable confines of the upper $280s throughout the week.

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The initial drop, however, may have set the wheels in motion for additional selling. A key $285 support level was weakened during the weekend drop, and it gave way the second time around. The break may have triggered the release of a large amount of selling pressure. Traded volume hit a rate of nearly 9,000 BTC/hour and close to a total of 20,000 BTC ($5.6 million) was dumped within a 3h span. Such figures have not been observed since late January. Similar quantities were observed on Bitfinex, with lesser activity on Bitstamp.

The gap between BTC-e and its counterparts has widened to $5.50 (2%), as is common during sudden drops.