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Bitcoin Heads for Its Biggest Drop in More Than Two Weeks

Biggest cryptocurrency’s slide drags ethereum, litecoin lower.

Bitcoin Heads for Its Biggest Drop in More Than Two Weeks
A pile of coins representing Bitcoin cryptocurrency sit grouped together in this arranged photograph in London, U.K. (Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin headed for the biggest drop in more than two weeks, as a rebound that saw the digital asset bounce almost 18 percent from the year’s lows ran out of steam.

The largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 6 percent on Wednesday, putting it on course for its worst day since June 22, according to composite prices compiled by Bloomberg at 7:42 a.m. in New York. The move was reflected in its peers, with Ripple, Ethereum and Litecoin all falling more than 4 percent.

Bitcoin Heads for Its Biggest Drop in More Than Two Weeks

Rallies in digital tokens have been rare this year, with momentum lacking as apathy with last year’s hottest asset class grew. The currencies have struggled to retain speculator interest as a mania that saw Bitcoin rise 1,400 percent in 12 months appeared to have run its course.

The lack of interest was reflected in traded volumes, which in June plunged to the lowest level in more than a year, according to data from exchange Bitstamp Ltd., compiled by Bloomberg. Worldwide searches for the term "Bitcoin" hovered near the lowest level in a year, according to Google Trends data. Tweets that mention the coin peaked Dec. 7, at 155,600, and are now down to about 30,000 per day, BitInfoCharts says.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eddie van der Walt in London at evanderwalt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Samuel Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, ;Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Todd White

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.