Cryptocurrency prices tumbled overnight, with bitcoin hitting its lowest price since last August.
Bitcoin
BTCUSD,
-5.55%,
the world largest crypto by market cap, slid more than 6% and dropped below the $40,000 level, last trading at about $38,800 as of midnight Friday. Ether
ETHUSD,
-6.49%,
which runs on the ethereum blockchain, fell 7% to about $2,868, and XRP
XRPUSD,
-5.38%,
Bitcoin Cash
BCHUSD,
-6.20%,
Litecoin
LTCUSD,
-6.31%
and Monero
XMRUSD,
-3.29%
all posted sharp losses, according to Kraken data.
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The declines came after Russia’s central bank on Thursday proposed a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies. Russia is one of the world’s leading bitcoin mining locations. Oanda senior market analyst Edward Moya predicted earlier Thursday that bitcoin could fall below $40,000 due to the Russian proposal.
Bitcoin prices are down 16% in January, and have tumbled 36% over the past three months.
