Bitcoin fell to its lowest point since early April last week, falling US$280 on Tuesday to US$6455. However, market watchers are optimistic that it will recover this year.
It is now around 66 per cent below its US$19,000 peak in December, and back to levels where it was trading last November before it took off on its big run.
According to finder.com.au, all top 10 cryptocurrencies suffered losses last week, with EOS, IOTA and TRON falling by around 20 per cent.
The market has been impacted by various investigations and increasing oversight from regulators, as well as anxiety over market hacks that have seen traders lose money, and a market that may have more coins and ICOs than can be sustained.
The ACCC reported that Australian investors lost more than $3 million in cryptocurrency scams last year. International market regulators are warning that the range of scams involving cryptocurrencies is increasing.
Last week, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail reported a “cyber intrusion” and said it was reviewing its security as a result of the intrusion.
Finder regularly asks a panel of industry experts to forecast the likely price moves for the top cryptocurrencies. According to the latest survey, Bitcoin will recover and rise to more than $14,000 by the end of the year.
The panelists are most bullish about EOS, with the consensus view that it will rise from its current price of $12 to $38 by the end of the year.
The panelists expect that all the top 10 coins will be trading at higher prices by the end of the year, although Monero will be relatively weak, with an expected increase of only 4 per cent.
The panelists expect that there will be some volatility in the short term, with Monero and IOTA expected to fall in the month ahead.