bitcoins: Bitcoin begins year negative after 2019’s eye-catching surge

Bitcoin’s not yet having a happy new year.

A sell-off in the largest digital token pushed the price below $7,000 on Thursday. Bitcoin dropped as much as 4 per cent to fall to its lowest level since mid-December, according to Bloomberg data.

Bitcoin is coming off an eye-catching 2019, which saw it gain close to 95 per cent despite repeated bouts of volatility. That’s emboldened some investors and analysts to call for further gains this year as adoption rates increase and fans continue to flock to decentralized currencies.

“We’re at a critical stage in Bitcoin’s price trajectory,” said George McDonaugh, co-founder and managing director at KR1, a cryptocurrency and blockchain venture capital investment firm. “Bitcoin will most likely bounce back strongly from a steep dive in price and return to the $7,500 mark and then move higher into the middle of 2020,” he said, citing strong fundamentals and the creation of new Bitcoin wallets, among other…