The bitcoin price fell another 6% on Tuesday. Is the king of the cryptocurrencies toast, and will it bring the whole crypto market down with it? Price on the brink After falling out of a 2-month-long bear flag the bitcoin price has continued to go downstairs, and on Tuesday, the price jolted down the next step to stop at around $18,500. Should the top of the 2017 bull market at around $20,000 now not hold, then there is a chasm awaiting below, which could lead the price down to $14,000, with many analysts saying that $12,000 or even $10,000 are on the cards. Worst crypto bear market in history? This bear market is now being touted as potentially the worst in Bitcoin’s short, nearly 14-year history. With bitcoin outside of the logarithmic growth curves that it has mostly held inside of for its entire being, the fear is that it has grown too high and too fast, and that a cataclysmic correction is nigh. With bitcoin, history has so far always told us that no matter what, the price will recover, and that it will climb out of the bear market dips and continue skywards as it always has. Bitcoin volatility Bitcoin sceptics have always scoffed at the amount of volatility in crypto, saying that it can’t be trusted, given that it can lose huge amounts of value in short amounts of time, which just doesn’t generally take place in stock markets, or in any other asset market come to that. However, what the sceptics don’t take into account, is that the total crypto market cap is just so tiny in comparison with any other asset class. The nearest is probably Silver, which totals around $1.5 trillion. When you have such a comparatively small amount of liquidity, assets can swing violently one way and the other. The total market cap for crypto has dipped under $1 trillion again, and until major adoption occurs, and the market cap rises to match that of Gold, at around $11.5 trillion, the price volatility will continue to persist. Bitcoin versus CBDCs It has to be acknowledged that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are an experiment. They have grown and prospered out of the necessity of having private money outside of the debt-based and highly manipulated world of fiat currencies. Bitcoin appears to be the best chance for those wishing to hold their own sovereign hard money that can’t be touched by any government or other agency.  Central bank digital currencies are being investigated by more than 100 countries, and they appear to be the system’s bet for what will take over from what we have now. However, what is extremely worrying here is that they will allow central banks to micromanage citizens, and have the power to decide what can and can’t be bought, and even enable the banks to switch off an individual wallet should the owner be deemed by them to not be following the rules. Bitcoin may well be ready for another stomach churning drop, but at some point the price will recover because there are those who know that it has huge importance in a society where rights and freedoms are being stripped away, and that the purchasing power of fiat currencies is being eroded at a breakneck pace.  Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.