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SINGAPORE, Sept 19 (Portal) – Cryptocurrencies fell to fresh lows on Monday amid regulatory concerns and as investors around the world turned away from risky assets as interest rates hiked around the world.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell about 5% to a three-month low of $18,387.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 3% to a two-month low of $1,285 and is down more than 10% in the past 24 hours. Most other smaller brands were deeper in the red.
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The Ethereum blockchain, which underlies the Ether token, received a major upgrade called Merge over the weekend that will change the way transactions are processed and reduce energy consumption. Continue reading
Representations of the virtual currency Bitcoin are placed on US dollar banknotes in this May 26, 2020 illustration. Portal/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The token’s value has fallen amid some speculation that comments by US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler last week implied the new structure could bring additional regulation. Trades surrounding the upgrade were also settled.
“It’s speculation as to what may or may not happen,” Matthew Dibb, COO of Singapore-based crypto platform Stack Funds, said of the regulatory outlook.
“Since the merger, a lot of hype has come out of the markets,” he said. “It really was a news-selling event,” he added, amid the jittery global backdrop, saying that Ether could test $950 in the coming months.
“If you look at the landscape at the moment, both fundamentally and technically, it’s not looking good. We can’t see an immediate bullish catalyst that will support these markets and bring in a whole lot of new money and liquidity.”
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Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Edited by Kirsten Donovan
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