Shares of Bitcoin plummeted on Friday. The Verge News Writer Shannon Liao explains the factors driving the price down for this cryptocurrency. On Friday Coinbase temporarily disabled its platform amid a price rout in the cryptocurrencies. Liao says one theory for the sell off is investors looking to cash out now before the bubble bursts. Earlier this week Coinbase also halted transactions for Bitcoin Cash after accusations of insider trading surfaced on Twitter. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published the company's employee trading policy on Medium in light of the accusations. "We have no indication of any wrongdoing at this time," said Armstrong. Shares of Litecoin also plummted this week after the cryptocurrencies founder cashed out. This week shares of Litecoin are down more than 6 percent. Meanwhile, several companies are looking to capitalize on the cryptocurrency craze. This week beverage maker Long Island Iced Tea announced it changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp. Shares of the company jumped 200 percent after the announcement.

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Tesla sales jump after months of boycotts
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
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