Sudden $3,000 Bitcoin Volatility Shakes Altcoin Markets

Bitcoin’s $300 drop and correction within 60 minutes has taken its toll on altcoin markets, with assets reacting to the sudden bout of volatility.

As Bitcoin bottomed out at around $2,750 before rebounding to $2,800, according to CoinMarketCap, altcoins in the top 10 showed signs of strain.

Having reached almost $60 per coin, Monero, for example, soon began backtracking to lose an abrupt six percent or around $7 in minutes.

The pattern was repeated with Ripple, NEM and Litecoin, all of which dropped by up to six percent.

The reason for the sudden unsteadiness in Bitcoin is not immediately obvious. Reverse trends are common when prices approach major psychological barriers, yet even this rule was broken when Bitcoin passed $2,000 and $2,500 with barely any resistance.

Commentators today were once again setting their sights on $5,000 as the next “real” test, with little interest left for a post-$3,000 Bitcoin.

The swing had only a negligible effect on Ethereum, meanwhile, the altcoin continuing its latest uptick to pass $400.

Ethereum Classic, meanwhile, caught the Bitcoin blues, ending its own surge which had seen new all-time highs reach just under $23 per coin.