Bitcoin Futures Plunge – Fiat Crypto-Space Crumbles: Gold Buying Increases

The day’s slide started around 9amET, when a burst of gold buying appears to have reset the correlation between XAU and BTC: Just a few hours later, Bitcoin is back below $16,000. [Who in the world can afford 1 Bitcoin ~ The US Middle Class? Think Again!]

• Nobel Laureate Economist Joseph Stiglitz Says Bitcoin Doesn’t Serve Any Socially Useful Function
  

Litecoin – yesterday’s big winner – is tumbling…

Ethereum is roling over…

Futures are underperforming spot and collapsing the arbitrage…

5 Ways To Bet Against Bitcoin’s Highly Speculative “Get Rich” Scheme: Rise & Fall Of Famous Bubbles

Billionaire Hedge Fund Pioneer Ray Dalio: Bitcoin Is A Bubble, Not A Currency…Not A Store Of Value

While no immediate catalyst for the moves are obvious, we note that Interactive Brokers has allowed clients to short Bitcoin futures (with a massive $40,000 margin) and South Korea said on Wednesday it may tax capital gains from cryptocurrency trading.
[South Korea Has Further banned domestic initial coin offerings and margin trading in cryptocurrencies following China & Russia] as global regulators worried about a bubble, with Australia’s central bank chief warning of a ‘speculative mania” that has seen the digital asset making rip-roaring gains. [Australia is further moving forward With Legislation to strictly regulate  cryptocurrencies] [Top 11 Countries In Which Bitcoin is Banned]