Investing.com – Bitcoin fell on Wednesday as the annual Blockchain conference Consensus failed to spark the wave of buying pressure that some analysts had anticipated.
Bitcoin fell 3.25% to $8,255.2 on the Bitfinex exchange and remained close to session lows of $8,100.0.
New insights into the current crypto environment from market participants attending the conference were few and far between, providing little reason for investors to pile into bitcoin.
Some participants claimed the general takeaway from the conference was "Blockchain continues to be in an embryonic phase, with speculators eager to cash in."
In the run up to the conference, some had claimed it would act as the touch-paper for a rally in bitcoin but the "consensus pump" failed to materialize as sentiment on cryptocurrencies remained negative following renewed regulatory fears.
“Bottom line: We expect BTC and cryptocurrencies to behave similarly to prior years and rally during Consensus,” Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors said prior to this week’s Consensus conference in New York.
The topic of regulation was hotly debated at the conference, media reports suggested, but it lacked fresh perspective drawing a muted a reaction from cryptos.
The drop in total crypto market cap further below $400 billion signalled the lack of the demand for cryptos amid widespread selling.
Ripple XRP fell 2.78% to $0.67836 on the Poloniex exchange, while Ethereum fell 2.32% to $695.77.
Bitcoin Cash fell 6.48% to $1,263.60, while Litecoin fell 1.57% to $138.19.