---
title: "‘Bart Simpson Pattern’ Sees Bitcoin Spike, Drop Time and Again"
description: "Bitcoin dropped then spiked and dropped again in Wednesday morning trading. The pattern looked familiar to fans of America’s favorite lemon-toned television family."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-12-04-bart-simpson-pattern-sees-bitcoin-spike-drop-time-and-again/"
published: "2019-12-04T21:22:03"
updated: "2019-12-04T21:31:52"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 251
---

# ‘Bart Simpson Pattern’ Sees Bitcoin Spike, Drop Time and Again

> Bitcoin dropped then spiked and dropped again in Wednesday morning trading. The pattern looked familiar to fans of America’s favorite lemon-toned television family.

By Bloomberg · Published 4 December 2019, 23:22 SAST · Updated 4 December 2019, 23:31 SAST

## Content

“We joked about it -- it was the [Bart Simpson](https://www.google.com/search?q=bart+simpson+profile+pic&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS843US843&sxsrf=ACYBGNTo7Kmwm_eq0v2WuNi_ILBr_JeT7w:1575477631870&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=eD5Nuxeb-AfbGM%253A%252CVBcBYTYLRn0kAM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQugm2oqL36PJo4rlpivHngFijqRw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXneXEt5zmAhXuThUIHX4vCG4Q9QEwAXoECAcQKg#imgrc=eD5Nuxeb-AfbGM:) pattern where it jumps up like this and spikes around a little bit like Bart Simpson’s head,” said Justin Litchfield, chief technology officer at ProChain Capital, referring to the fictional son of Homer and Marge Simpson in one of the longest-running sitcoms on television, Fox’s “The Simpsons.” “It’s been doing that a lot lately with these really sharp spikes.”

Cryptocurrencies are infamously volatile, at times posting double-digit gains and losing just as much moments later. In [April](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-02/bitcoin-s-60-minute-surge-isn-t-changing-pros-outlook-yet), for instance, the largest cryptocurrency jumped 21% on the back of an internet hoax. In May, peak excitement over Bitcoin [pushed](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-20/bitcoin-roars-back-from-flash-crash-to-breach-8-000-once-more) its price up 17% in one session, just days after a [flash crash](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-20/bitcoin-roars-back-from-flash-crash-to-breach-8-000-once-more). A similar pattern [played out](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-28/crypto-crash-prompts-guessing-game-as-bitcoin-breaches-10-000) again in August when Bitcoin suddenly dropped for no apparent reason, leaving traders and speculators guessing about catalysts behind the move.

Wednesday’s move, which saw Bitcoin gain as much as 6% before paring losses, may have been caused by a large Tether deposit on an exchange, said Danny Kim, head of growth at SFOX. “Given this data is publicly available, other market participants could have been expecting there would be a big purchase coming and tried to get ahead of the run, thus creating a short-term price increase,” he said.

Bitcoin was up 2% as of 12:46 p.m. in New York to trade around $7,479. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks some of the largest digital tokens, gained as much as 4.1%.