By Jacqueline Corba

Bitcoin dropped back below $8,000 this week, prompting the cryptocurrency's defenders to explain the seemingly rapid fluctuations (prices fell about $500 on Tuesday).

"Probably the biggest thing driving Bitcoin's price where it is today is in fact the 'Bitcoin fork,'" a technical change in the currency's transaction protocol, said Brock Pierce, the Bitcoin Foundation's chairman. "There's uncertainty on what is Bitcoin?"

The most recent sell-off comes after Bitcoin hit an eight-week high on July 24.

"There was a nice moment there where it felt like we were going from this kind of bear, stagnant market back into a bull state," Pierce said in an interview Thursday on Cheddar's Crypto Craze. "But obviously that was a little premature."

Pierce, who started investing in Bitcoin in 2011, said he remains "incredibly bullish" on the digital currency, calling it "Gold 2.0."

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