Bitcoin falls more than $1,000 in minutes after breaking $11,000

Digital currency Bitcoin showcased its major volatility as its value dropped by more than $1,000 in 10 minutes overnight, in a matter of hours after capping a meteoric rise to over $10,000 amid some calls for it to be banned.

On some exchanges one Bitcoin was trading for as high as $11,500 on Wednesday, but plummeted rapidly to as low as $9,290 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index a matter of minutes later.

Analysts continue to assert that the rise of Bitcoin is little more than a speculative bubble, whose value which eventually subside.

The sell-offs in the session have been put down to intermittent outages after a major surge in traffic after the cryptocurrency breached the $11,000 mark.

Despite the drop, some experts have said the major increases in BTC’s value this week have brought it to a place where it is no longer just a passing distraction for investors.

Analysts continue to assert that the rise of Bitcoin is little more than a speculative bubble

Reports suggest that Nasdaq is planning to launch Bitcoin futures as early as 2018, adding weight to claims that it could become a recognised currency asset.

“Bitcoin, which had until the summer been little more than a passing distraction for most investors appears to be starting to gain acceptance as some form of safe haven, store of value, or even risky punt, whatever you want to call it, but however you describe it the interest in it has seen the price go parabolic in the last few days,” said CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson.

“Exchanges appear to be queuing up to offer bitcoin futures with Nasdaq yesterday saying it plans to follow the CME and offer bitcoin futures in the first half of 2018.”

Meanwhile, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has called for Bitcoin to be made illegal, saying it has no “socially useful function”.

“It’s a bubble that’s going to give a lot of people a lot of exciting times as it rides up and then goes down,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg.