Bitcoin Plunges in Biggest Intraday Drop Since February

April 18, 2021
Bitcoin Mining at Russian CryptoUniverse Farm

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Bitcoin plunged the most in more than seven weeks, just days after reaching a record.

The token fell 8.5% to $55,689.98 as of 1:48 p.m. in Singapore on Sunday, after declining as much as 15.1% to $51,707.51 earlier. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fell almost 8%.

Several online reports attributed the plunge to speculation the U.S. Treasury may crack down on money laundering that’s carried out through digital assets.

Bitcoin hit a record high of $64,869.78 last week ahead of the debut trade for the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. on the Nasdaq Wednesday. The original and biggest crypto coin, Bitcoin is valued at more than $1 trillion after a more than 800% surge in the past year.

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