Will cryptocurrencies endure?

Singapore

BITCOIN and other digital currencies plunged on Thursday, a slide likely to stoke speculation about the durability of the boom in cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin slumped as much as 8.7 per cent, the most since early August, while digital coins like Ether also tumbled. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index at one point slid more than 6 per cent.

"Conditions are very massively overbought and bound for a correction," said Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at crypto exchange Luno in Singapore. "So I don't think it's unusual frankly."

Even with the retreat, Bitcoin has more than doubled this year and until recently was knocking on the door of the record high of US$19,511 set in 2017.

Crypto believers tout purchases by retail investors, institutions and even billionaires, and the search for a hedge against dollar weakness amid the pandemic, as reasons why the boom can last. BLOOMBERG