Bitcoin expands its losses and slides to the lowest since September 2017

Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | Getty Images

A photo illustration of digital cryptocurrency, Litecoin (LTC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Dash was seen on September 13, 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

After Thanksgiving, the feeling surrounding Bitcoin has changed dramatically, and certainly since the last holiday season. Thanks to a wave of new private investors, cryptocurrency was just beginning to grow and soared to nearly $ 20,000 before Christmas.

Weekend losses bring the annual decline of Bitcoin to more than 75%. The main XRP and Ether crypto-currencies fell by 12% and 9% respectively, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com.

These low lows mark key exit points for some traders. Bitcoins below US $ 4,000 have probably triggered "stop losses", predetermined trading levels that often exacerbate sales. These levels of bitcoin support were broken when the cryptocurrency plunged to new lows.

In recent weeks, regulatory repression has also weighed on prices. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week its first civil sanctions against the founders of cryptocurrency, as part of a massive regulatory and legal crackdown on fraud and abuse in the United States. l & # 39; industry.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that regulators are investigating whether the bitcoin rebound to nearly $ 20,000 last year was the result of market manipulation. The US Department of Justice is investigating whether string, a controversial cryptocurrency which, according to its founders, is supported at 1/1 by the US dollar, has been used by traders to support bitcoin, according to the report, citing three anonymous sources knowledgeable about it.