Last year, Bitcoin was all anybody could talk about. It gripped the investing world like no other asset class in recent memory, writes The Wall Street Journal. New millionaires were born out of bitcoin, and it sparked a pivot to blockchain technology. It attracted a new wave of interest from institutional investors. But now, in 2018, Bitcoin is a total dud. The price of the cryptocurrency is down by about 30 percent in January, on pace for its worst monthly drop in three years, according to WSJ. On Wednesday, it hit a two-month low when it fell below $10,000. Bitcoin is down by about half from its all-time high of close to $20,000, reached in mid-December. There are several factors behind the decline, but the regulatory clampdown occurring around the world is an important reason why bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency markets are all facing big drops. Earlier this month, the top U.S. derivatives regulator brought charges in three cases involving virtual currencies. Then, on Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission halted a $600 million initial coin offering. This was one of the biggest U.S. interventions yet into the world of cryptocurrency.
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