Bitcoin tumbles, erases gains for June

 Bitcoin briefly dropped more than 12 percent to $2,185.96 Thursday, its lowest since May 31 when it hit a low of $2,162.23, according to CoinDesk. The digital currency recovered to near $2,366 early Thursday afternoon, little changed for June.

 "Many investors seem to be using the very recent rally as an opportunity to take some profits while they evaluate the market after the largest spike in price, volume and interest that we have ever seen," said Alex Sunnarborg, research analyst at CoinDesk.

 The move highlights the volatile swings by digital currencies — bitcoin remains more than 100 percent higher year to date.

 Meanwhile, the global market value of digital currencies fell from a record of $117.21 billion on Monday to below $100 billion Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap.
 

 Bitcoin 30-day performance

 Source: CoinDesk 

 The cryptocurrency world started the week strong with bitcoin topping $3,000 for the first time Sunday, more than tripling for the year, and a record-breaking fund raise Monday of about $153 million for a new digital currency called Bancor. Another digital currency called IOTA launched on the Bitfinex exchange Tuesday with a record market capitalization of more than $1.5 billion.
 

 However, the enthusiasm for the often volatile cryptocurrencies also attracted cyberattacks on at least two major exchanges and temporarily overwhelmed another exchange's website with high customer demand.
 

Bitcoin's rise over the weekend was also helped by demand from major Chinese exchanges. They announced around the beginning of June they would resume bitcoin withdrawals after a roughly four-month halt amid scrutiny from the People's Bank of China. Chinese yuan-based bitcoin trade dropped from dominating global trade volume to less than 10 percent of all trade.