Bitcoin briefly drops below $7,000 to two-month low
-The digital currency falls below $7,000 to its lowest since Nov. 14, according to CoinDesk.
-The decline follows reports in the last week that have raised worries about increased regulation and potential price manipulation at a major cryptocurrency exchange.
-The heads of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
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5:26 PM ET Fri, 2 Feb 2018 | 00:43
Bitcoin briefly dropped Monday below $7,000 to its lowest in more than two months.
The digital currency fell 19.58 percent, to a low of $6,583.56, its lowest since Nov. 14, according to CoinDesk, whose bitcoin price index tracks prices from four major exchanges.
Bitcoin recovered to $7,169 as of 4:04 p.m. ET. With Monday's declines, bitcoin has now lost about 50 percent for the year so far.
Bitcoin 12-month performance
Source: CoinDesk
The latest sell-off follows reports in the last week that have raised worries about increased regulation, hackers and potential price manipulation at a major cryptocurrency exchange. On Friday, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup also said they have decided to ban cryptocurrency purchases by their credit card customers.
A report from China's Financial News on Sunday said authorities will increase efforts to restrict virtual currency trading platforms, especially those that may have moved overseas following Beijing's ban on initial coin offerings in September. The South China Morning Post first highlighted the report.
The heads of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
In prepared remarks, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said investors should remain cautious about investing in cryptocurrencies and gave an overview of the commission's efforts so far.
Ethereum fell 14 percent, to $712, according to CoinMarketCap, while ripple declined nearly 11 percent, to 72.7 cents, in afternoon trading.
Bitcoin remains several hundred percent higher over the last 12 months, while ethereum and ripple are several thousands of percent higher.