The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk US Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) declined on 12th June to a low of $568.87 after reaching a high of $634.38. The dramatic price swing, however, was followed by a slight recovery to $582.29 at press time.
The price decline began at 13:00 UTC before accelerating sharply at 19:00 UTC, dropping from $616 at 19:00 UTC to the day’s low. However, by 22:30 UTC, USD bitcoin prices rallied to $592.77 before declining again to press time levels.
The decline coincided with the US Marshall Service’s announcement it will be initiating an auction of 30,000 BTC confiscated from the infamous online black market Silk Road. The sale is expected to be held on 27th June from 6 am to 6 pm EST.
Though volatile prices are a common occurrence with bitcoin, the recent volly can likely be attributed to varying sentiment for what the government’s bitcoin auction may mean for the BTC economy, as evidenced by community posts on reddit.
