Bitcoin has dropped more than 40% in the past two months, and bookmakers say there is a high chance the cryptocurrency will plummet even deeper.
Oddsmakers see an implied probability of nearly 58% that bitcoin spirals to $10,000 this year, Fortune reports.
More pessimistic views see bitcoin dropping below $1,000 by the end of the year (an implied probability of less than 3%). In mid-April, the chances of bitcoin falling that low were estimated at just 0.4%. At present, bitcoin costs about $37,000.
Making such wagers on cryptocurrencies in a casino or online is illegal in the US. US-Bookies.com data is taken from European and other markets, where it is allowed.
The shift in bookmaker sentiment comes amid contradictory news about bitcoin. On the one hand, El Salvador recently approved it as legal tender. Global banking regulators have been increasingly signaling a growing acceptance of digital currencies. Meanwhile, the US Internal Revenue Service said it is tightening market control.