Bitcoin takes 'long-overdue' tumble with dramatic 20pc plunge

E-Paper | May 03, 2026

Bitcoin prices suffered a dramatic plunge on Friday, dropping 20 per cent at one point towards the $13,000-mark in volatile Asian trading.

The cryptocurrency kicked the week off with a bang, almost hitting $20,000 as it extended its astonishing rise but it has suffered a significant correction this week, losing a third of its value.

Bitcoin dropped to $13,048 briefly from around $16,500 in late trading on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

At its height, Bitcoin had soared almost 30-fold since the start of the year and has moved into the mainstream as two major US exchanges began trading futures in the unit.

However, it took a 15pc hit on Wednesday following news that a South Korean exchange had been hacked and experts say it is experiencing a long-overdue correction.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday that the price surge of the virtual currency was “abnormal”.

The vice-president of the European Central Bank has also expressed concern about the relentless rise in the value of Bitcoin and the potential risk accompanying the trend.

US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen has said Bitcoin is not money and called on banks to be certain their digital currency transactions adhere to anti-money laundering statutes.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Our readers are at the heart of everything we do.
Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com.

Pakistan

Bitcoin futures rise as virtual currency hits major exchange

Bitcoin hits $6,400 after CME says will launch futures

Soaring to a new record high, Bitcoin currency is not without risk

ABE

Dec 22, 2017 02:41pm

Law of averages and immutable laws of physics cannot be defied. What goes up,.must eventually, come down. Even the sattellites eventually crash, rockets burn up and disintegrate in space. Bitcoin is a fad. With no underlying assets, no organization, no manangement to hold accountable, no accounting and reporting in fact, and suspiciously mafia, under-world criminal connections and insiders making money on the pump and dump scheme. Stay away from it. When something smells to be too good to be true, it usually is.

Recommend 0

Najeeb Ahmed

Dec 22, 2017 03:03pm

@ABE, I dont know who you are ..but my word ..that is the best summary about bitcoin I have ever read. I would strongly encourage you to take on financial writing (or any writing for that matter) if not already in the trade.

Recommend 0

Malik Khan

Dec 22, 2017 03:36pm

Both abe and najeeb do not own any bitcoins themselves hence their satisfaction when it went down a bit ..--- people like abe have been negative about it since its inception but it rose from 10 cents to 16000 usd in 5 years .... we call this calender dekh keh tareeq batana in urdu ...

Recommend 0

Silent Observer

Dec 22, 2017 03:57pm

What goes up must come down. And Bitcoin is no exception.

Recommend 0

falcon1

Dec 22, 2017 04:12pm

@Malik Khan Then Check the Calender, oh enlightened one, for reasons for the followign crashes: 1- 1929 Crash and Bank Failures in the US 2- October 1987 Crash of World Wide Stock Markets 3- 2000 Dot.com Bubble 4- 2008 Financial Crises 5- 2008 Dubai Real Estate Crash 6-Spectacular Crash of former Coroporations like Enron and Worldcom. They all had one in thing in common between them. Hype.inflated values that rose too quickly, exaggerated claims, no underlying assets, insider tradings, fraud, deceit, lack of regulations, no transparency and confusion among investors. All of these factors are present in the present day phenomena called 'Bitcoin'. Thankfully, some of us know better to stay away from such schemes. So be our guest and get sucked into it. More more to you. When you loose shirt, hold on to your pants

Recommend 0

Skeptic

Dec 22, 2017 04:42pm

@Malik Khan You can find thousands of 'investors' in Dubai Real Estate sector, who rushed in with hard-earned money, black money and illicit gains to make even more money quickly in Dubai. Only to be left holding worthless contracts for real estate which either never got built, or crashed in value within a few short months to make them walk away from losses and lick their chops. Greed has a way of coming to bite you.. Don't get bitten by bitcoin monster. Those who forget the lessons of history, are condemend to repeat it. I am sure you were one of those RE investors in the Dubai bubble and are again willing to try your luck to get rich quickly?? Beware!

Recommend 0

Asma Sayeed

Dec 22, 2017 05:11pm

You guys are forgetting one thing....as with all things tech, they are real, here to stay and represent the future. More crypto s being churned is a case in point. We coyld not dream if so many things around us which have bwcpme part of our dailt lives, till a frw years back so why nor cryptocurrency. After all the mining process does involve brain and enterprise so its quite real in that sense. I for one rue the fact that i was not aware if it earlier. Congrats on the good fortune of thise who have . Yes it will come down but will stabilise at a point. Thats when inshallah ill buy :):)

Recommend 0

Jawed Saleem

Dec 22, 2017 06:10pm

Bitcoin has survived 94% and 95% corrections in past. Corrections/declines/crashes are inevitable/integral part of markets/commodities/assets/currencies. Corrections are nothing to write home about. Bitcoin just bounced back from 13,000 - business as normal. PSX is currently undergoing correction (and DJIA is long over-due correction in second half of 2018). Nikkei 225 is still 44% down from all time high in 1989.

Recommend 0

Howzat

Dec 22, 2017 07:02pm

Most investments do not give 1300 percent return in one year but one thing is for sure - it will get more exposure after listing futures on CME and CBOE and wholesale investors get involved. Let's see what the future holds for crypto currencies like bitcoin but 20% movements can be expected and even coming down to $13,000 which equates to around Rs 1.4m for 1 bitcoin most Pakistanis would find it out of their reach. If you are risk averse I would stick to buying property or gold.

Recommend 0

Skeptic

Dec 22, 2017 07:27pm

@Asma Sayeed Bitcoin is only as much a 'tech' company, as long as the transactions are done with crypto currenncy on your phone. Otherwise there is no innovative technology involved. Even block chain is has some gapping holes that regualators and even some techies have not figured out. It is but a virtual curency with no assets to back it up. So it can go kaboom any time. If you think this is a tech company, than what is Airbnb (an unregulated hotel business without any regulations to comply with, without owning a single hotel ) or Uber (a Taxi company without owning a single Taxi, as the EU's highest court ruled yesterday)? They are only using technology to connect people. Nothing else. They didn't invent a new technology of their own. But copied what many others had done to bring buyers and seller together - like Amazon or Ebay.

Recommend 0

Branded Content

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expands climate action with one Million Tree Drive and forest reforms

The province is turning policy into action through a series of large scale programmes aimed at rebuilding ecosystems and improving resilience against rising climate pressures.

Taptap Send, Arshad Nadeem partner to highlight Pakistan’s unsung champions

The initiative comes at a time when cricket continues to dominate national attention, often overshadowing achievements in other sports.

NexGen Auto (Nishat Group) to Introduce iCAUR in Pakistan

As one of Pakistan’s leading business groups, Nishat Group operates across key sectors including textiles, cement, banking, insurance, power and agriculture.