As Bitcoin took a nosedive on Friday, reaching below $11,000 at a point, three Bitcoin-related exchanges suspended trading.
The value of Bitcoin fell from an all-time high of $20,000 to $11,000, though later recovering to about $12,000.
Bitcoin has had a bullish run in 2017, beginning the year at about $1,000 before surging exponentially in November, which caused a scramble by investors and speculators, prompting a media frenzy.
Financial analysts have warned that such changes as recently occurred with the slump should be expected.
“This is exactly how this asset trades and has done since the beginning,” said Nick Colas, co-founder of New York-based DataTrek Research. “It has a lot of volatility and it will for the foreseeable future.”
The market remains driven by sentiment, according to Charles Hayter, founder and chief executive of industry website Cryptocompare.
“A manic upward swing led by the herd will be followed by a downturn as the emotional sentiment changes,” he said.
Some traders would have been cashing in on the spectacular gains made over the year, he added.
This week’s plunge led to a flood of trades that swamped one of Bitcoin’s major exchanges, Coinbase, on Friday. A technical slowdown prompted the firm to halt buying and selling twice.