Bitcoin’s second-quarter selloff left a crater in the bull case for the highly speculative cryptocurrency.
The digital asset fell 41% in the second quarter, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That was the worst selloff since a 43% drop in the fourth quarter of 2018, and the fourth-worst drop in bitcoin’s decade-plus history.
“We can say with absolute certainty that the hype has left the market,” said Mati Greenspan, who writes the Quantum Economics newsletter. That is more of a problem for bitcoin than other assets, since bitcoin is driven largely by momentum and speculation.
Bitcoin certainly didn’t drop over any widespread meltdown. The S&P 500 rose 8.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 9.5%. U.S. crude oil rose 24% and even gold—the asset to which many bitcoiners compare the digital currency—rose 3.3%.
Throughout the quarter there was a steady drumbeat of questions, about bitcoin’s speculative frenzy, about its energy usage, about its risks. China cracked down on the industry, and regulators in a number of other countries raised questions as well. Elon Musk tweeted.