Bitcoin drops below $8,000 as worried traders look for another support level

Weakness in the most-traded digital coin is also dragging other major currencies down

Digital currency Bitcoin has dropped below $8,000 during early trade on Monday. AFP

Bitcoin fell below $8,000, (Dh29,360) heading toward its lowest close since June and dragging down most other digital coins in its wake.

The most-traded cryptocurrency slipped as much as 4.9 per cent from its Friday close and looks set to test a fresh resistance level of $7,355. It has failed for days to regain the $8,595 mark that represents a 50 per cent drop from its high of the year.

The biggest peer-to-peer currency has had short-lived rebounds in the past month as it successively fell through a support level in the $9,000s and then its 100-day moving average. Traders often look to technical analysis when there is little news to explain price movements in a market characterised by anonymous ownership and which is poorly correlated with major asset classes.

Bitcoin was down 3.4 per cent to $7,890 at 10.14am London time. Declines in rival digital coins ranged from as little as 2 per cent for EOS to 4.4 per cent for Monero. The best gainer among the most-traded cryptocurrencies was XRP, up 5.4 per cent.