In just 24 hours, bitcoin price has fallen by almost $100. Since the start of the week, the cryptocurrency lost nearly a quarter of its price. The coming Brexit referendum is quoted as a possible reason for the downfall.

At 6 am GMT, one bitcoin was worth $575, partly recovering after a 24-hour minimum of $551. Just yesterday, it was sold for $660 and on 18 June, the cryptocurrency was at its two-year maximum of $774.

The total market cap of bitcoin decreased to $9 billion while last week it exceeded $12 billion.

According to Bitcoinity, the total amount of trades increased to reach 3.11 million BTC. Chinese exchanges are still accountable for the overwhelming majority of transactions: almost 89.4% of purchases and sales (totalling 2.78 million BTC) occurred on OkCoin and Huobi.

Experts believe that the main factor behind the fall of bitcoin price is the British referendum on leaving the European Union that takes place today. According to many market players, the odds are that the UK will vote for staying in the EU (“Bremain”). This makes bitcoin less appealing as a “safe haven” in a period of macroeconomic ambiguity.

There are different opinions on the future of bitcoin price. According to Arthur Hayes, co-founder and CEO of BitMEX exchange, the cryptocurrency may grow to $700 if Britain votes to leave the EU but will stabilise at around $550 if it stays. On the contrary, Vinny Lingham believes the price may return to the $600-$700 range even if Britain does not secede.

Alexey Tereshchenko