As bitcoin crashes, Reddit's cryptocurrency community post links to suicide hotlines

As the price of a single bitcoin tumbled to under $10,000 for the first time in months, Reddit's cryptocurrency community started posting links to global suicide hotlines.

In a shocking fall from grace – at least in the short-term – value fell swiftly, a far cry from the lofty heights of just two months prior, when it was valued at more than $19,000 per coin.

In the global context the situation looked to be troubling. South Korea and China were allegedly pondering bans on cryptocurrency exchanges, police raids in the region were taking place and the UK government spoke out about the possibility of more legislation. The banks, of course, smelled blood.

In the context of small traders, things also seemed dire. When the markets turned bad, all suffered.

Ethereum was down. Litecoin was down. Ripple was down. According to analysts, the latest crisis wiped more than $200bn (£145bn) from the global market value.

Posting details of the US hotline, Reddit user "A_Internet_Stranger" wrote Tuesday (16 January): "The hardest hit people are one of the following: newcomers, margin traders, or day-traders."

The post urged: "Let others know if you need any other guidance to people who help." At the time of writing, the thread had garnered more than 3,000 comments.

"Losing money isn't the end of the world, there are more important things in the world. As long as you have your health, that is the single most important thing," one user wrote. Another had a different approach: "I must be the only person excited for this dip so I can buy more."

In December last year, it emerged that some cryptocurrency investors who had been swept up in the financial craze (some would say bubble) were taking out mortgages to purchase bitcoin. But the latest drop appeared to be much worse than many investors had expected:

While high-profile bankers warned the blockchain-based currency could be a "fraud", some in the community say those invested in bitcoin should not be worried by volatility.

"Bitcoin is deciding whether this is the moment to crash and burn," Steven Englander, head of strategy at New York-based Rafiki Capital, told Reuters. "My conjecture is that cryptocurrency holders are trying to decide whether to abandon bitcoin because its limitations mean it will be superseded by better products or bet that it can thrive despite them."

It is too early to tell if the crash is a burst or a brief lull, but if you do need to talk to a healthcare professional there is always help to hand. In the UK, you can contact the Samaritans at 116-123, all hours of the day, seven days a week. Alternatively, find them online at: www.samaritans.org.

In the US, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.