It has been a long time coming, but the Bitcoin price has dropped firmly below US$10,000 again. Many people thought we were out of the woods last week, but the real price correction had yet to take place. As a result, we are now looking at a Bitcoin price of just US$9,500, and it seems the bottom is not yet in sight. It would not be unlikely to see the Bitcoin price find its first real support well below US$8,500.

The Expected Bitcoin Price dip has Arrived

No one takes pleasure in seeing the Bitcoin price drop below US$10,000 right now. No one, that is, other than a few financial “experts” who will gladly tell the world how the Bitcoin bubble has finally burst. Everyone has to agree the Bitcoin price gains in 2017 were rather spectacular and unsustainable in the long run. It was a sign of what the future may hold for Bitcoin, but for now, we will have to endure a steep and lengthy market correction.

A few weeks ago, we noted that the Bitcoin price would likely drop to US$9,000 before we saw upward momentum again. At the time, it seemed that might not happen after all, but today, it suddenly looks like a very realistic target. The Bitcoin price already dipped below US$9,550, and there is no real support on any exchange to push the price back up over US$10,000 anytime soon. It is an unfortunate turn of events, but anyone with a working brain saw this coming from miles away.

With the Bitcoin price dropping hard, it is evident there will be a strong focus on the Ethereum price as well. Surprisingly, Ethereum has seemed to hold its own quite well, whereas the Bitcoin price is down by 7.39% in the past 24 hours. If this trend keeps up, it is not unlikely that Ethereum’s market cap will inch closer to that of Bitcoin and potentially overtake it in the next few weeks. The “flippening” may happen after all, although it is still too early to say for sure.

With US$7.563 billion in 24-hour trading volume, Bitcoin is still the world’s most traded cryptocurrency. Its volume is almost twice as high as Ethereum’s, and no other currency comes even close to US$1 billion right now. We have seen decreasing trading volume materialize for over a week now, and it seems the bearish sentiment is to blame for this development. Bitcoin’s trading volume is still solid, though, but with so much bearish pressure, the Bitcoin price will continue to dwindle unless a miracle happens.

Unsurprisingly, the largest Bitcoin trading market right now is none other than OKEX. In terms of 24-hour volume, the company has a clear lead over Bitfinex. OKEX is in the top three with its ETH/BTC pair as well, which is rather interesting. None of the other usual suspects – bitFlyer, GDAX, and even Bitstamp – are anywhere close to making a dent. It is evident the amount of fresh capital entering the cryptocurrency ecosystem is drying up, which will help push the Bitcoin price down even further in the coming hours. Kraken is already trading BTC at US$9,260.

For the time being, all cryptocurrency traders will have to endure this onslaught. It is a healthy correction when looking at the bigger picture, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. Rest assured the Bitcoin price could easily drop to US$8,500 or potentially even lower in the coming hours. Compared to a year ago, things are still looking exceptionally bullish, which is something everyone needs to keep in mind.