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Bitcoin has lost 74% of its value so far this year, after hitting nearly $ 20,000 in December last year. Photo: Bloomberg
New York: Bitcoin prices more than 12% on Monday, extending falls in recent weeks in a broad-based selloff in cryptocurrencies as sentiment sours. Several factors have accelerated the downturn, analysts said, including increased US regulatory scrutiny and a delay to January 2019 of the widely-anticipated launch of the bitcoin futures by Bakkt, the Intercontinental Exchange's crypto platform.
Said "These factors coupled with a network of fundamentals and reports of falling supply pressure to a point of apparent capitulation," said Aditya Das, analyst at Brave New Coin, a crypto asset market data company.
Bitcoin fell to as low as $ 3,519.94 on the Bitstamp platform, after an earlier fall to a 14-month trough of $ 3,462.57, and was last down 12.6%. It has lost 74% of its value so far this year, after hitting nearly $ 20,000 in December last year.
Other digital currencies also fell sharply, with Ethereum's ether down 7% at $ 106.69 and Ripple's XRP falling 5.6% to 34 US cents.
Cryptocurrency market capitalization plummeted to $ 122.3 billion on Monday, down 85% from its peak of nearly $ 800 billion hit in early January this year.
Mainstream investors have stayed clear of bitcoins, with concerns over scant regulatory overseas and undeveloped market infrastructures compounded by frequent swings in price.
Analysts said the United States sell-off, with the delay in its approval of new bitcoin instruments, as well as for its investigations of initial coin offerings and crypto exchanges.
The SEC has ordered civil penalties against Airfox and Paragon. These companies have agreed to return funds to the US SEC, and pay penalties.
Bloomberg reported in November that the US Department of Justice had initiated an investigation of cryptocurrency.
At the same time, the sharp price falls are seen as an opportunity to get into viable cryptocurrency projects at a discounted price.
"Donald Bullers, North American representative of the web3 infrastructure platform Elastos, said" It is important to highlight that of the unpleasant headlines.
This is the case, but it will be added to the following: "If it is market manipulation accusations, he will be added to the long game.
