Written by :
Published on :
The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies witnessed another sharp drop Monday morning, continuing a trend that developed Sunday following news banking institutions in India had begun suspending crytpo accounts.
Prices for Bitcoin fell back to $11,096 at 20:59 UTC yesterday and had briefly dropped as low as $10,388 Monday morning.
Bitcoin has lost 17.52% of its value — or roughly $59.27 billion in market cap — since January 15.
Fears of clampdowns in South Korea and China have mostly fueled the price drops.
The U.S. government is also seemingly getting into the act with the Security Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission issuing this joint statement Friday:
“When market participants engage in fraud under the guise of offering digital instruments – whether characterized as virtual currencies, coins, tokens, or the like – the SEC and the CFTC will look beyond form, examine the substance of the activity and prosecute violations of the federal securities and commodities laws,” it said. “The Divisions of Enforcement for the SEC and CFTC will continue to address violations and bring actions to stop and prevent fraud in the offer and sale of digital instruments."
Peter Boockvar, the Chief Investment Officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, painted a more ominous picture for Bitcoin in the year to come.
“Over the next year I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s [BTC] down to $1,000 to $3,000.”
Boockvar told CNBC that the boom in crypto markets can be attributed to easy-money policies of central banks and money printing.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
