<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839886-1619527017616-106839886-1613137951786-gettyimages-1231048263-widak-teslabuy210208_npv7Z.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404831" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839886-1619527017616-106839886-1613137951786-gettyimages-1231048263-widak-teslabuy210208_npv7Z.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839886-1619527017616-106839886-1613137951786-gettyimages-1231048263-widak-teslabuy210208_npv7Z-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Tesla, led by Elon Musk, confirmed that it purchased about $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin in January and expects to start accepting it as a payment in the future. Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The price of bitcoin is approaching $40,000 once again after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he was having active discussions with bitcoin miners regarding the sustainability of the digital coin.



Bitcoin on Tuesday was trading at around $37,961.32 at 5:54 a.m. ET and its price has risen over 4% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinDesk.



Almost all of the other major cryptocurrencies are also trading higher.



Ethereum’s price has risen more than 13% to $2,550.62 in the last 24 hours, while dogecoin has seen its price rise more than 7% to 34 cents a coin.



A small handful of less well-known cryptocurrencies such as Tether and Dai have seen their price fall in the last 24 hours, but the declines are negligible.



Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, jumped minutes after Musk tweeted: “Spoke with North American Bitcoin miners. They committed to publish current &amp; planned renewable usage &amp; to ask miners WW to do so. Potentially promising.”



The coin initially popped 4% to hit $39,824.81 a few hours later, before falling back to almost $38,000.&nbsp;



Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor followed up on Musk’s tweet, saying he hosted a meeting between the Tesla CEO and some bitcoin miners that led to the formation of the Bitcoin Mining Council, which will promote sustainability.



Bitcoin mining requires vast amounts of energy. As a result, bitcoin has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/bitcoin-btc-surge-renews-worries-about-its-massive-carbon-footprint.html">a carbon footprint comparable to that of New Zealand</a>, producing 36.95 megatons of CO2 annually, according to Digiconomist.



Musk has been a big supporter of cryptocurrencies, sparking rallies in the prices of digital coins, including bitcoin, several times in the past year. His tweets and comments around cryptocurrency often send the prices soaring or plunging.



In an SEC filing in February, Tesla revealed that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would accept it as a form of payment. The company later said it registered a net gain of $101 million from sales of bitcoin during the quarter, helping to boost its net profits to a record high in the first quarter.



However, Musk’s relationship with the digital coin appeared to change earlier this month. He tweeted on May 12 that the company “suspended vehicle purchases” using bitcoin, out of concern over “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels” for bitcoin mining.



Bitcoin’s rally this week comes after turmoil in the crypto markets that saw its price fall below $32,000 on Sunday.



Last week’s crypto sell-off came after authorities in China and the U.S. moved to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies.



Chinese authorities called for tighter regulation on crypto mining and trading on Friday, and the U.S. Treasury announced Thursday that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the IRS.



— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Jessica Bursztynsky.

106839886-1619527017616-106839886-1613137951786-gettyimages-1231048263-widak-teslabuy210208_npv7Z

Bitcoin attempts to close in on $40,000 after Elon Musk said he spoke to miners about energy usage

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="630" height="354" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bitcoin-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404731" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bitcoin-1.jpeg 630w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bitcoin-1-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /><figcaption>A visual representation of digital currencies. Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The crypto market edged higher Monday after a week of hell during which billions of dollars were wiped off the value of bitcoin and ether.



The price of Bitcoin edged upwards towards $37,000 on Monday after plummeting to less than $32,000 on Sunday. Bitcoin was up around 8% at $36,764.83 in the 24 hours leading up to 5:00 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk, which put the market cap of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency at around $686 billion.



Meanwhile, ether, the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, rose from less than $1,800 on Sunday to over $2,300 on Monday. It was trading around $2,296.90 at 5:00 a.m. ET – up 14% over 24 hours and with a market cap of around $266 billion, according to CoinDesk.



Elsewhere, dogecoin also showed signs of recovery, with its price rising from 24 cents on Sunday to 33 cents on Monday.



Broadly speaking, the crypto market was a sea of green on Monday, with just a small handful of lesser-known coins down in the last 24 hours. It comes after a week of turmoil that left many crypto investors shaken.



Last week’s crypto sell-off came after authorities in China and the U.S. moved to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies.



Chinese authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">called for tighter regulation</a>&nbsp;on crypto mining and trading on Friday, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/us-treasury-calls-for-stricter-cryptocurrency-compliance-with-irs.html">U.S. Treasury announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the IRS.



Bitcoin on Wednesday plunged more than 30% at one point to nearly $30,000, its lowest price since late January, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency peaked in April near $65,000.



The sell-off is a major reversal for the cryptocurrency, which appeared to be gaining traction among major Wall Street banks and publicly traded companies. This month, however, bitcoin has been hit by a series of negative headlines from major influencers and regulators.



— Additional reporting by CNBC’s Hannah Miao.

bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies attempt a positive start to the week after wild plunges

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404708" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE</figcaption></figure>



U.S. stock index futures traded higher early Monday after the S&amp;P 500 posted its second negative week in a row the previous week.



Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average implied an opening gain of about 145 points. S&amp;P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also trading in positive territory.



The previous week saw the Dow post its fourth negative week in five, while the S&amp;P registered two straight weeks of losses for the first time since February. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, gained 0.31% last week, snapping a four-week losing streak.



Despite the tech-heavy index’s weekly gain, however, the Nasdaq Composite finished Friday’s session in the red as bitcoin prices once again moved lower, putting pressure on the broader technology sector.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/23/bitcoin-resumes-selloff-over-weekend-briefly-falls-below-33000.html">cryptocurrency’s sell-off continued on Sunday</a>, with bitcoin dropping around 16% to under $32,000, according to data from Coin Metrics. On Wednesday, bitcoin prices tumbled to just above $30,000, dropping to the lowest level since late January.



“The rapid rise in digital currency values hit a major speedbump this week as cryptocurrencies of all stripes saw sharp declines in their prices,” strategists at CIBC wrote in a note to clients. “The asset class continues to be highly volatile, with the potential of significant price movements resulting from a single tweet or public comment.”



The decline came as Chinese regulators called for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">stricter laws</a>&nbsp;around mining and trading the cryptocurrency.



“Despite this week’s collapse in crypto markets and rather hawkish FOMC minutes, another equity dip was bought by investors,” JPMorgan wrote in a note to clients. “This ‘buy the dip’ mentality has been remarkably strong this year and has provided a support preventing any small correction in equities and risk markets from becoming more extended,” the firm added.



The Federal Reserve hinted at its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/fed-officials-said-rapid-progress-in-economy-could-lead-to-lowerng-asset-purchases.html">April meeting</a>&nbsp;that easy monetary policies could be reconsidered if the economy continues to show signs of rapid improvement, according to minutes from the meeting released last week.



Looking ahead, there are a number of retail companies set to report quarterly earnings in the coming week, including Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Gap and Ulta. Several technology companies will also release quarterly updates, including Nvidia, Snowflake, Workday and Salesforce. On the economic data front, consumer confidence and new home sales data will be released on Tuesday.



Heading into the last full trading week of the month, the Dow is on track to post a gain for May, while the S&amp;P is on track to snap a three-month winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite, which is down more than 3% for the month, is on track to snap its longest monthly winning streak since Jan. 2018, with its first negative month in seven.



After outperforming year-to-date, small caps have faced recent weakness, and the Russell 2000 is on track to snap a seven-month winning streak.



“We think the choppy/sideways trend will continue for a bit longer, and the market will experience sell-off scares along the way,” noted Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge. “While stocks are absorbing a lot of changes well so far, all the inflection points still have longer to play out.”

106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg

Stock futures rise after Dow, S&P 500 post losing week

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404690" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A visual representation of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin on November 20, 2018 in London, England. Jordan Mansfield | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CM=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;sell-off continued Sunday following a roller-coaster week of trading, as authorities in China and the U.S. move to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies.



Bitcoin fell roughly 16% to $31,772.43 by 12:27 p.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics data.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency on Friday afternoon traded at $35,891.20.



Bitcoin’s recent sell-off is a major reversal for the cryptocurrency, which appeared to be gaining traction among major Wall Street banks and publicly traded companies. This month, however, bitcoin has been hit by a series of negative headlines from major influencers and regulators.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a> CEO Elon Musk, who helped fuel bullish sentiment when his company <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin</a>, delivered a blow earlier this month when he announced that the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/elon-musk-says-tesla-will-stop-accepting-bitcoin-for-car-purchases.html">automaker had suspended vehicle purchases using the cryptocurrency</a> over environmental concerns.



Musk subsequently sent mixed messages about his position on bitcoin, implying in a tweet that Tesla may have sold its holdings,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html">only to clarify later that it had not done so.</a>



“The asset class continues to be highly volatile, with the potential of significant price movements resulting from a single tweet or public comment,” CIBC analyst Stephanie Price said in a note Thursday.



A JPMorgan report showed large institutional investors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/big-institutional-investors-are-dumping-bitcoin-and-going-back-into-gold-jpmorgan-says.html">were dumping bitcoin in favor of gold</a>. The news raised questions about institutional support for the cryptocurrency.



Cryptocurrencies continued to slide as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">Chinese authorities</a>&nbsp;called for tighter regulation on crypto mining and trading, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/us-treasury-calls-for-stricter-cryptocurrency-compliance-with-irs.html">U.S. Treasury</a>&nbsp;announced that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the IRS.



Bitcoin on Wednesday plunged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">more than 30% at one point to nearly $30,000</a>, its lowest price since late January, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency peaked in April near $65,000.



“Even with this week’s selloff cryptocurrencies have had an incredible run over the last year,” Price said.



Bitcoin is up 268% in the past year, according to Coinbase. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, grew more than 840%.

106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va

Bitcoin resumes sell-off over weekend, falls below $32,000

LONDON/TOKYO, May 20 (Reuters) &#8211; Bitcoin regained some lost ground to trade near $40,000 on Thursday, a day after a brutal selloff on concerns over tighter regulation in China and unease over the extent of leveraged positions in the cryptocurrency world.



The biggest and most popular cryptocurrency rose 9% to a touch below $40,000, after plunging 14% on Wednesday to its lowest since late January. Smaller rival ether was up 11% at $2,700 at 0829 GMT, after its 28% tumble.



Its bounce came after prominent crypto backers such Ark Invest&#8217;s Cathie Wood and carmaker Tesla&#8217;s Elon Musk indicated their support on Wednesday. Wood said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast.



Musk reiterated that Tesla was holding on to its bitcoin investments.



&#8220;People consider this as a &#8216;buy the dip&#8217; moment, and many consider this as &#8216;the last chance to buy bitcoin cheap&#8217;,&#8221; said Ruud Feltkamp, chief executive at crypto trading bot Cryptohopper. &#8220;The next few months will show if the bull market will continue or if it&#8217;s the start of the end of its run.&#8221;



Wednesday&#8217;s declines in both digital assets were one of their biggest daily percentage moves in more than a year as investors rushed to exit trades that until recently were outperforming traditional markets such as stocks and bonds.



The latest catalyst was a statement by Chinese financial industry bodies banning the use of cryptocurrencies in payment and settlement, and prohibiting institutions from providing crypto-related products or exchange services between cryptocurrencies and the yuan or foreign currencies.



But bitcoin had already been under pressure for almost a week after a series of tweets from Musk, a major cryptocurrency backer, chiefly his reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment.



Analysts said the upheaval was far from over.



&#8220;It&#8217;s too early to say if the rebound we’ve seen off the lows in crypto has legs,&#8221; said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne.



&#8220;I question if we will get a chance to catch our breath or is there more volatility in store?&#8221; he said.



Weston pointed to how $9.13 billion of cryptocurrency positions had been liquidated across exchanges over 24 hours, and $532 billion in total volume transacted.



The slide forced some investors to close out leveraged positions in cryptocurrency derivatives, which caused prices to fall further and knocked digital assets down into a lower trading range, traders said.



Coming off a six-fold jump on the back of rising usage in non-fungible tokens on digital art platforms, ether&#8217;s selloff was far more damaging with the digital currency trading 39% below record highs.



James Quinn, managing director at Q9 Capital, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency private wealth manager, said the selling reflected huge crowded positions in ether.



&#8220;Sometimes a market event is looking for a cause. I think this is about positioning. Over the long term, maybe it’s positive because a very crowded trade from a lot of new entrants means there are a lot of new entrants,&#8221; Quinn added.



Still, ether is up more than 270% so far this year and bitcoin&#8217;s year-to-date gains stand at 37%.



While some retail traders saw missed opportunities in the slide, others saw the rout as a chance to pick up digital assets on the cheap.



Milko Markov, an independent London-based trader, said he had been buying ether.



&#8220;Those with a bit more experience in the crypto market know two cardinal rules: don&#8217;t leverage and dollar cost average,&#8221; he said.



(Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore, Alun John in Hong Kong; Editing by Kim Coghill and Toby Chopra)

Novelty Coins Representing The Bitcoin Cryptocurrency : Illustration

Bitcoin’s star backers, dip buyers help cryptos recover

The cryptocurrency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH=">ether</a>&nbsp;“has a better shot” at becoming a commodity than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">bitcoin</a>, argues New York University’s Aswath Damodaran.



“If the future lies in blockchain transactions — and ether is going to be a better lubricant of those blockchain transactions — you could actually argue that ether has a stronger upside story than bitcoin does,” Damodaran, a professor of finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business, told CNBC’s “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/street-signs-asia/">Street Signs Asia</a>” on Thursday.



Ether is the cryptocurrency that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It currently sits in second place behind bitcoin in terms of market cap, according to Coinmarketcap. Noted proponents of Ethereum include billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/mark-cuban-ways-ethereum-dwarfs-bitcoin.html">told CNBC previously that it “dwarfs” bitcoin</a>.



Damodaran, a longtime skeptic of the cryptocurrency, said bitcoin lacks an “endgame” and called it a “purely speculative game.”



“All that bitcoin bulls seem to talk about, their biggest sales pitch for bitcoin is: ‘Look at how much money I’ve made on bitcoin.’ That’s it, that’s the end of the sales pitch,” he said. “That’s not a sales pitch. That tells me nothing about the substance here.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="433" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns.png" alt="" class="wp-image-404467" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns.png 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns-300x176.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



“I wouldn’t be surprised if bitcoin is up 20% tomorrow, down 25% the day after. This has become a purely speculative game,” said Damodaran, who is also known as Wall Street’s “dean of valuation.”



The professor’s comments came after a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/the-crypto-collapse-heres-whats-behind-bitcoins-sudden-drop.html">collapse in cryptocurrency prices Wednesday</a>&nbsp;stateside.



Bitcoin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/bitcoin-btc-price-plunges-but-bottom-could-be-near-.html">plummeted 30% to about $30,000 at one point</a>, but has since recovered partially and was trading at $40,110.38 as of 3:51 a.m. ET Thursday, according to Coin Metrics. Ether was not spared in the fallout, briefly falling below $2,000 before later making a partial recovery. It last traded at $2,724.61.



That wild ride was likely triggered by a slew of negative headlines and catalysts, such as tweets by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as well as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/china-bans-financial-payment-institutions-from-cryptocurrency-business.html">regulation by the Chinese government</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-cryptocurrency-space">Diverse cryptocurrency space</h2>



Damodaran also argued there is a need for a separation in how each cryptocurrency is treated, given that their intended purposes vary.



“I think we need to start to separate the crypto space into: those cryptos that are trying to be currencies, those cryptos that are trying to be collectibles — millennial gold — and those cryptos that are actually commodities,” Damodaran said. “Right now &#8230; we bundle them altogether in this once space.”



The cryptocurrency sector today spans a wide gamut, from bitcoin which is often pitched as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/cryptocurrencies-are-close-to-reaching-a-big-milestone-versus-gold-by-one-wall-street-firms-count.html">a potential competitor to gold</a>&nbsp;as a store of value, to others such as Dogecoin —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/dogecoin-cryptocurrency-rises-over-400percent-after-reddit-group-talks-it-up.html">originally started as a joke</a>. Both cryptocurrencies have seen wild swings in their price so far this year due in part to their association with Elon Musk.



Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/what-are-nfts-all-you-need-to-know-about-crypto-collectibles.html">crypto collectibles known as NFTs</a>&nbsp;also grabbed headlines earlier this year after people started paying millions for them.

106885738-1621490902783-gettyimages-1317812942-dsc01436

NYU’s ‘dean of valuation’ argues ether has a better chance of becoming a commodity than bitcoin

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404426" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background in this illustration taken April 26, 2021. Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



So you want to play in crypto and become a millionaire overnight? Brace yourself for more days like Wednesday.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;plunged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/bitcoin-btc-price-plunges-but-bottom-could-be-near-.html">as much as 30%</a>&nbsp;to about $30,000, according to Coin Metrics.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH=">Ether</a>&nbsp;dropped more than 40% in less than 24 hours,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/the-crypto-collapse-heres-whats-behind-bitcoins-sudden-drop.html">breaking below $2,000</a>&nbsp;at one point. Both gained back substantial ground by the end of the day.



But this is par for the course in the world of trading cryptocurrencies. Huge run-ups and equally drastic falls. Over and over.



“Massive retracements are always scary, but seasoned investors tend to see them as buying opportunities,” said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics.



Both crypto and market experts tell CNBC that this is the new normal of investing, and traders should just get used to it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-value-and-volatility">Value and volatility</h2>



Bitcoin’s volatility has to do with a lot of things.



On Wednesday, for example, news of China cracking down on banks completing crypto transactions, plus the tailwinds of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>’s decision to no longer accept bitcoin as a form of payment, certainly helped drive the carnage among digital currencies. The overall crypto market was also probably due for a correction after weeks of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/dogecoin-rallies-on-elon-musk-tweet-anticipated-coinbase-listing.html">tweet-inspired record climbs</a>, courtesy of Elon Musk.



But volatility is also the price that bitcoin investors pay for its limited supply and its lack of a central bank to control that supply — precisely the features proponents say give it value.



Part of what makes bitcoin valuable is the fact that it is scarce. There are&nbsp;<a href="https://messari.io/asset/bitcoin/metrics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">18.7 million</a>&nbsp;bitcoin in circulation, which is nearing its maximum threshold of 21 million.



New bitcoin are created as a reward for miners, who contribute their computing power to verifying transactions across the decentralized network. Over time, the size of these rewards decreases, so each new completed block earns miners less than it used to.



As a result, the supply of bitcoin is perfectly inelastic. “A rise in demand cannot result in the increase in supply of bitcoin or increase the speed at which bitcoin is issued,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/addressing-bitcoin-criticisms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote Ria Bhutoria</a>, former director of research for Fidelity Digital Assets.



Bitcoin’s value is also derived from its decentralized network. There is no central authority which has the power to intervene in the bitcoin market.



“No central bank or government can step in to support or prop up markets and artificially subdue volatility,” continued Bhutoria. “Bitcoin’s volatility is a trade-off for a distortion-free market.”



Plus, bitcoin is still very new.



″[It’s] only 13 years old and thus doesn’t have much of a trading history,” explained Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “While a company that went public yesterday in an IPO doesn’t have any history, a company can at least be evaluated on its business prospects, earnings and cash flow.”



Because bitcoin is still a nascent asset class, it remains in the price discovery phase. ”[It’s] the most volatile of any asset’s life cycle,” said Mike Bucella, Blocktower Capital general partner.



“Bitcoin has clearly established itself as a new form of value, but the terminal value is still undefined,” continued Bucella. “That information gap lends itself towards a momentum, or technically driven market, absent new information.”



The path to true price discovery is often fraught with seismic price swings, but Bhutoria points out that the alternative is artificial stability, which can result in distorted markets that may break down without intervention.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-404427" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1.png 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1-300x200.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Get used to it</h2>



Bucella thinks that today’s trading volatility will be repeated.



“There will be many periods like we’ve seen today, where a negative news cycle has taken out technical levels (and momentum) in the price of BTC – and those are all the more exacerbated when the market participants start taking on leverage,” continued Bucella.



What happened today is pretty typical: Spot selling breaks a key level and leverage gets liquidated, creating a more dramatic sell-off than the market would otherwise indicate. Bucella says it has been the same pattern, time and again, over the last decade, and he thinks it will remain in place until we achieve a mature level of adoption.&nbsp;



Ultimately, “high-risk, high-reward” does tend to be the rule of investing, and it is especially true of bitcoin.



“All investments carry risk, and just like stocks, crypto is subject to price swings,” said Noah Perlman, Gemini’s chief operating officer. “Bitcoin is still a young asset class, but it’s one of the best performing of the last decade.”



Playing the long game is crucial. “As with any market, crypto investors with a longer timeframe and diversified portfolio will see more consistent results,” explained Greenspan.



Bitcoin’s volatility also has a sort of “halo effect” over companies with exposure to the cryptocurrency.



Tesla, which has a $1.5 billion stake in bitcoin, fell roughly 2.5% Wednesday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MSTR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microstrategy</a>, another company that holds a large amount of bitcoin for its corporate treasury, ended the day 6.6% lower, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/COIN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, the newly public crypto exchange which specifically warned in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">S-1</a>&nbsp;that it was vulnerable to volatile moves in the price of cryptocurrencies, dropped 6%.



But to Bucella, this type of volatility is a gift that most fund managers in traditional markets would salivate over. “As a fund manager, with proper risk management, infrastructure and tooling, this level of volatility presents enormous opportunity,” said Bucella.



Whatever your risk tolerance, experts say the volatility won’t always be this bad.



Bitcoin trading is no longer dominated by retail buyers. Professional money managers and corporate America have flooded the market in the last year, and they’re still getting started. As more institutional investors adopt bitcoin, it lends newfound legitimacy to the cryptocurrency, helping to erase its reputational risk. It also creates more stability overall.



“With greater adoption of bitcoin and the development of derivatives and investment products, bitcoin’s volatility may continue to decrease, as it has historically,” noted Bhutoria.



And as longtime value investor Bill Miller pointed out in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kellycnbc/status/1347605051443978244?lang=en&amp;amp;__source=newsletter%7Ctheexchange" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNBC interview</a>&nbsp;earlier this year, “One of the interesting things about bitcoin is that it gets less risky the higher it goes.”

A Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background in this illustration taken April 26, 2021. Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

Bitcoin’s wild price moves stem from its design — you’ll need strong nerves to trade it

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) &#8211; The dollar steadied amid a broad equity market sell-off on Wednesday, hovering near multi-month lows as market participants looked to the Fed for any change in nuance that could shed light on its monetary outlook. 



But cryptocurrencies took the spotlight, plunging in the wake of regulatory moves from China. 



&#8220;If there’s anything grabbing headlines at this hour it’s a crash in cryptocurrencies,&#8221; said Erik Bregar, head of FX strategy at Exchange Bank of Canada in Toronto. &#8220;That seems to be what everyone is focused on.&#8221; 



Bitcoin plunged to its lowest level since January in the wake of China&#8217;s decision to ban financial and payment institutions from providing digital currency services. 



Rival cryptocurrency Ethereum sank 28% to $2,444. Inflation pressures are mounting, with recent data showing the extent to which a supply/demand imbalance has caused prices to surge as materials producers struggle to keep pace with a reopening economy. 



That has aroused fears that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates sooner than expected despite the central bank&#8217;s assurances that current price spikes are temporary. 



The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of world currencies, was last flat at 89.795. 



The minutes from the Fed&#8217;s most recent meeting, due later on Wednesday, are widely expected to reiterate policymakers&#8217; intention to stay the course and leave key interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future. 



Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields were little changed. &#8220;Prices tell us everything we need to know,&#8221; Bregar said. 



&#8220;The bond market is not expecting runaway inflation. &#8220;It’s going with Powell’s transitory outlook.&#8221; 



Pricing pressures are being felt elsewhere. UK inflation more than doubled in April to 1.5% from a month earlier, sparking similar concerns over longer-term inflation. 



The British pound eased 0.1% against the dollar to $1.4173. 



Canada also released its latest inflation data, which showed consumer prices jumping to an annual rate of 3.4%. 



The greenback gained 0.2% against the Canadian dollar to $1.208, but was still hovering near its weakest level since May 2015. 



The euro, which touched its highest against the dollar since the beginning of January, fueled by economic optimism, inched up 0.04% to $1.2229. 



The dollar fell 0.13% to 108.755 Japanese yen.

Crypto

Dollar steadies ahead of Fed, cryptos plummet after China move

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Global stocks slipped and cryptocurrencies sank deeper on Wednesday as a threat of unwanted inflation had investors shy away from assets seen as vulnerable to any removal of monetary stimulus.



Digital coins were also under pressure from new Chinese restrictions on financial institutions providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions.



But as the U.S. dollar edged away from its lowest levels of the year against its rivals, prices of gold, viewed as a hedge against inflation, reversed their recent course to fall from near a four-month peak.



&#8220;The bitcoin flow picture continues to deteriorate and is pointing to continued retrenchment by institutional investors,&#8221; JPMorgan analysts including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a research note.



Institutional investors appeared to be shifting away from the cryptocurrency and back into traditional gold, reversing a trend of the previous two quarters, they added.



The cautious sentiment pervaded in equity markets as focus was locked on the U.S. Federal Reserve&#8217;s release later on Wednesday of the minutes of its April meeting, which will be watched for any indication about monetary policy in the United States.



Europe&#8217;s STOXX 600 index remained 1.3% down, on course for its biggest drop in more than a week, while MSCI&#8217;s gauge of stocks across the globe sank 0.4% lower.



MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.6%, though Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holidays. Japan&#8217;s Nikkei lost 1.3%.



U.S. S&amp;P futures fell 1% in Europe a day after Wall Street stocks slid in late Tuesday trade, unable to sustain gains made after bumper earnings from Walmart and Home Depot.



While demand is recovering fast as many developed countries have made progress with COVID-19 vaccination, companies are facing obstacles from shortages of chips, containers, and in the United States, workers too, stoking worries of higher prices.



Mirroring a move underway in the United States as the global recovery takes hold, British consumer price inflation more than doubled to 1.5% in April, data showed on Wednesday.



INVESTORS REMAIN CAUTIOUS



Euro zone inflation picked up the same month, with consumer prices rising 0.6% month-on-month for a 1.6% year-on-year increase. Canada inflation data is due later.



In the United States, the Fed has stuck to the narrative that a recent rise in inflation would be transient and that it therefore should keep its easy monetary policy settings.



The minutes from April&#8217;s meeting are expected to repeat that message.



&#8220;Inflation remains the biggest theme, whether it is real and whether the Fed may need to change its policy because of that,&#8221; said Kazushige Kaida, head of forex sales at State Street Bank&#8217;s Tokyo branch. &#8220;At the moment, markets are putting faith, after a fashion, in the Fed&#8217;s narrative.&#8221;



Investors remain cautious following an unexpected pickup in U.S. consumer inflation shown earlier this month.



Any further flare-up could hit assets whose prices have been bolstered by monetary easing, including cryptocurrencies, which rose sharply over the past year and are seen by some as exemplifying an excess created by a &#8220;wall of money&#8221; from central banks.



Bitcoin extended an earlier slump to fall 13%, to its lowest level since early February, bringing its loss from a peak of $64,895 hit just over a month ago to more than 40%. It was last at $37,104.



Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, shed 28%, and is off more than 42% from record highs last week. It last changed hands at $2,579.



While cryptocurrencies were bruised by China&#8217;s fresh ban on their transactions, they were not alone in facing pressure.



Some commodities that have benefited from reflation trade have also lost steam, with U.S. lumber futures losing around 20% in the last three sessions.



China will strengthen management from both supply and demand sides to curb &#8220;unreasonable&#8221; increases in commodity prices, and prevent the pass-through to the consumer, the cabinet said.



Oil prices pulled back for a second day on simmering demand concerns as coronavirus cases in Asia rise and on fears of rising U.S. interest rates, which could limit economic growth.



U.S. crude futures dropped 2.0% to $64.21 per barrel while Brent futures lost 1.9% to $67.44 per barrel.



U.S. Treasuries were relatively calm, with the 10-year yield trading within the month&#8217;s ranges.



In Europe, the benchmark German Bund yield climbed to a two-year high as investors increasingly priced in the possibility of the European Central Bank slowing its bond-buying. Germany&#8217;s 10-year bond yield was up 2 bps at -0.089%. Italy&#8217;s 10-year yield was up 3 bps at 1.123%, having earlier hit its highest since September 2020.



In currency markets, the dollar firmed, moving away from its lowest levels of the year against major currencies.



The euro pulled back from a near three-month high of $1.2244 .



The dollar stood at 109.23 yen after four straight sessions of decline.



After gold hit its highest level since late January on Tuesday, it was last down 0.8% at $1,853.16 per ounce.



(Reporting by Tom Arnold in London and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Editing by Sam Holmes, Toby Chopra, William Maclean)

Trading Board Is Showing A Crash In Stok Exchange Market

Crypto crash deepens, stocks slip

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404292" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is on display in front of the Bitcoin course’s graph on February 09, 2021 in Paris, France. Chesnot | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;fell sharply on Tuesday continuing a major sell-off that began a week ago.



The digital currency fell over 13% to hit an intraday low of $38,585.86 at around 12:54 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. It was the lowest level since Feb. 9, the last time it dropped below $40,000.



Negative news over the past week has dampened sentiment for bitcoin.



On May 12,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;said the electric carmaker had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/bitcoin-btc-price-falls-after-tesla-stops-car-purchases-with-crypto.html">suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin</a>, citing environmental concerns over the so-called computational “mining” process. This is where high-powered computers are used to solve complex mathematical puzzles to enable transactions using bitcoin.



Musk’s comments caused <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/bitcoin-btc-price-falls-after-tesla-stops-car-purchases-with-crypto.html">over $300 billion to be wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market that day</a>.



The announcement to suspend bitcoin payment came just three months after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">Tesla revealed that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin</a>, and would start accepting bitcoin in exchange for its products.



Early this week, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html">clarified that the company has “not sold any Bitcoin.”</a>



Then on Tuesday, three Chinese banking and payment industry bodies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/china-bans-financial-payment-institutions-from-cryptocurrency-business.html">issued a statement warning</a>&nbsp;financial institutions not to conduct virtual currency related business, including trading or exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency.



China’s hard line on digital currencies is not new. In 2017, authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/bitcoin-price-falls-on-reports-that-china-is-closing-local-exchanges.html">shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/chinese-icos-china-bans-fundraising-through-initial-coin-offerings-report-says.html">banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs)</a>, a way for companies in the space to raise money through issuing new digital tokens.



Traders in China once accounted for a huge share of the bitcoin market but after the crackdown, their influence was reduced significantly. Chinese cryptocurrency operations have moved abroad.



Bitcoin is still up over 40% year-to-date and 320% in the last 12 months.



Other cryptocurrencies also plunged. Ether, the digital currency that powers the Ethereum blockchain, was down nearly 15% at $3,001.70 at 1:15 a.m. ET. Dogecoin,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/what-is-dogecoin.html">a cryptocurrency that started as a joke</a>&nbsp;and has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/dogecoin-rallies-on-elon-musk-tweet-anticipated-coinbase-listing.html">talked up by Musk</a>, fell over 18% to $0.4076, according to Coinmarketcap.com.



Around $279.65 billion had been wiped off the entire value of the cryptocurrency market in 24 hours as of 1:18 a.m. ET.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-close-to-a-bottom-for-bitcoin">Close to a bottom for bitcoin?</h2>



Bitcoin is off by about 39% from its all-time high of $64,829.14 which was hit in mid-April.



Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said that a 30% to 40% pullback is “normal” during bitcoin bull markets.



“So this is very much expected after we topped out at 64K ($64,000),” he said.



Ayyar pointed to a roughly 35% correction in January as well as similar falls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/bitcoin-tops-13000-surging-1000-in-less-than-24-hours.html">during the huge run-up in bitcoin’s price in 2017</a>.



“We are definitely close to a bottom” around $38,000 to $40,000, he said.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/crypto-bull-mike-novogratz-says-he-would-buy-bitcoin-around-40000.html">Bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz told CNBC on Tuesday</a>&nbsp;that he sees $40,000 as a buying level for the digital currency. The investor, who runs cryptocurrency financial services and investment management Galaxy Digital, said he expects bitcoin to consolidate in a trading range between $40,000 to $55,000.



“Then we’ll have another leg up. And I say that not just by guessing. We see institutions moving in, and it takes them a while,”&nbsp;Novogratz said.

106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011

$280 billion wiped off crypto market as bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106851227-1615297653733-gettyimages-1231424737-widak-teslaand210227_npq97.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-403851" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106851227-1615297653733-gettyimages-1231424737-widak-teslaand210227_npq97.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106851227-1615297653733-gettyimages-1231424737-widak-teslaand210227_npq97-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GUANGZHOU, China — Hundreds of billions of dollars were wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the electric vehicle maker would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/elon-musk-says-tesla-will-stop-accepting-bitcoin-for-car-purchases.html">suspend car purchases using bitcoin</a>.



At around 6:06 a.m. Singapore time on Thursday when Musk made the announcement, the value of the whole cryptocurrency market stood at around $2.43 trillion, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com.



Around 8:45 a.m., the market capitalization had dropped to around $2.06 trillion, wiping off around $365.85 billion. The market has pared some losses. Since Musk’s tweet, the cryptocurrency market had seen $165.75 billion wiped off its value at around 9:22 a.m. Singapore time.



In February,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">Tesla announced in a regulatory filing that it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin</a>&nbsp;and planned to accept the cryptocurrency for payments.



Musk cited environmental concerns on Thursday and said Tesla is “concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.”



Bitcoin is not issued by a single entity like a central bank. Instead, it is maintained by a network of so-called “miners.” These miners use purpose-built computers that require a lot of energy to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order for bitcoin transactions to go through.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/bitcoin-btc-surge-renews-worries-about-its-massive-carbon-footprint.html">Bitcoin’s energy consumption is larger than some individual countries.</a>



At around 9:34 a.m. Singapore time, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CB=">bitcoin</a> was down over 12%, dipping below the $50,000 mark for the first time since Apr. 24, according to CoinDesk data. Despite the recent pullback, bitcoin is still up over 400% in the last 12 months.



Other cryptocurrencies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH.CM=">ether</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/XRP.CM=">XRP</a>&nbsp;were also sharply lower.



Musk has been a big proponent of digital currencies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/dogecoin-price-surge-elon-musk-slim-jim.html">including bitcoin and dogecoin</a>, helping to drive their prices higher in recent months.



The Tesla CEO said the company will not be selling any bitcoin and intends to use it for transactions “as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”



Bitcoin has garnered interest in the last year as companies such as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Square</a> and Tesla announced bitcoin purchases and large institutional investors entered the cryptocurrency space. Major investment banks like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Goldman Sachs</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Stanley</a> have also sought ways to allow their wealthy clients to get <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/goldman-sachs-unveils-new-cryptocurrency-trading-team-in-employee-memo.html">bitcoin exposure</a>.

106851227-1615297653733-gettyimages-1231424737-widak-teslaand210227_npq97

As much as $365 billion wiped off cryptocurrency market after Tesla stops car purchases with bitcoin

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946-1-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403631" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946-1-1.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946-1-1-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Jack Taylor | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, has been stealing the limelight from bitcoin lately. The digital coin hit a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/10/ethereum-eth-price-soars-above-4000-for-the-first-time.html">record high above $4,000</a>&nbsp;on Monday and is now up over 450% since the beginning of 2021.



That doesn’t come close to the returns on meme-inspired crypto dogecoin, which is up over 11,000% year-to-date. But many crypto investors dismiss dogecoin as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/what-is-dogecoin.html">little more than a joke</a>&nbsp;and have compared its rise to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/gamestop-mania-explained-how-the-reddit-retail-trading-crowd-ran-over-wall-street-pros.html">Reddit-fueled trading frenzy</a>&nbsp;that pumped up the prices of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GME" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GameStop</a>&nbsp;and other stocks.



So what exactly is ether? And how is it different to bitcoin?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-it-started">How it started</h2>



Ether is the native currency of Ethereum, an open-source blockchain platform. Ethereum was founded in 2013 by Russian-Canadian programmer Vitalik Buterin and several other crypto entrepreneurs. Many of the people who started Ethereum were previously involved in bitcoin.



For Buterin, bitcoin was too limited in functionality. In an interview with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vitalik-buterin-created-ethereum-one-of-the-worlds-three-largest-cryptocurrencies-2019-1?r=US&amp;amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Business Insider</a>, he compares it to a pocket calculator that “does one thing well,” whereas he said Ethereum is more like a smartphone with multiple applications you can use.



That’s the main premise of Ethereum. Like bitcoin, it’s built on blockchain technology — essentially a distributed computer network that records all cryptocurrency transactions. But unlike bitcoin, people can build apps on top of Ethereum.



In Buterin’s own words, Ethereum is “a blockchain with a built-in programming language” and the “most logical way to actually build a platform that can be used for many more kinds of applications.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Smart contracts</h2>



The Ethereum network hosts what’s known as smart contracts — collections of code that carry out a set of instructions and run on the&nbsp;blockchain.



These contracts are what power decentralized applications, or dapps, which are similar to smartphone apps that run on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GOOGL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google’s</a>&nbsp;Android or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AAPL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple’s</a>&nbsp;iOS operating systems, except they don’t answer to one company or authority.



Recently, activity on ether’s network has surged thanks to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/what-are-nfts-all-you-need-to-know-about-crypto-collectibles.html">rise of NFTs</a>, or non-fungible tokens, which are digital assets designed to represent ownership of unique virtual items. That’s because many NFTs, from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/meet-cryptokitties-the-new-digital-beanie-babies-selling-for-100k.html">colorful online cats of CryptoKitties</a>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/nfts-why-digital-art-and-sports-collectibles-are-suddenly-so-popular.html">cyberpunk-inspired avatars of CryptoPunks</a>, run on Ethereum.



Put simply, bitcoin is a payments network that can be used to transfer value between two people anywhere in the world. Today it’s mainly used for investing. Ethereum, on the other hand, is aiming to create the infrastructure for an internet that isn’t maintained by any single authority.



A big trend in Ethereum right now is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/04/15/heres-what-decentralized-finance-or-defi-means-for-crypto.html">decentralized finance</a>, a term that refers to traditional financial products like loans and mortgages that are built using blockchain. In this case, blockchain replaces the middlemen — from banks to governments — and keeps track of everything.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Criticisms</h2>



Ethereum is far from perfect, though. In 2017, the popularity of the game CryptoKitties caused ether’s network to become&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/ethereum-2point0-eth-cryptocurrencys-network-starts-a-major-upgrade.html">heavily congested</a>, slowing transactions significantly and leading the game’s developers to raise their fees.



Scalability is one of the biggest issues with the Ethereum network today. It currently operates using a proof-of-work protocol, similar to bitcoin. This means that cryptocurrency miners with purpose-built computers have to compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to validate transactions.



This has led to criticisms of both bitcoin and Ethereum from those who are worried about the massive amounts of energy consumed by their networks.



But Ethereum is currently undergoing an ambitious upgrade called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/ethereum-2point0-eth-cryptocurrencys-network-starts-a-major-upgrade.html">Ethereum 2.0</a>. This would see it move to a “proof-of-stake” model which relies on “stakers” who already hold some ether to process new transactions.



Crypto investors say the upgrade should help the Ethereum network run at scale, processing lots more transactions at a faster pace and supporting apps with millions of users.



It could also lead to short-term price appreciation. More and more ether is getting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-2-lockup-defi-innovation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stashed away</a>&nbsp;for a “lockup” period by token holders seeking to become stakers and validate transactions on the new network. This could, in theory, limit the available supply of ether.



Still, some skeptics remain unconvinced by digital currencies like bitcoin and ether. The latest rally has reminded some investors of the 2017 crypto bubble, in which bitcoin ran up toward $20,000 before plummeting as low as $3,122 a year later. Bears say cryptocurrencies are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/bitcoin-bear-gives-2-reasons-why-the-bubble-is-going-to-burst.html">in another bubble</a>&nbsp;that’s waiting to burst. But bulls are convinced things are different this time — namely, increased interest from institutional investors.

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Ethereum: What is it and how is it different to bitcoin?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-403147" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/105174288-GettyImages-951165946-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Jack Taylor | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GUANGZHOU, China —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH.CM=">Ether</a>, the digital coin linked to the Ethereum blockchain, hit an all-time high of $3,456.57 as the cryptocurrency extends a rally that has seen its price gain over 350% this year.



The digital coin pared some of those gains in Tuesday morning trade in London and was trading at $3,369.74 at 11:20 a.m., according to CoinDesk data.



Interest in cryptocurrencies has surged over the past year with bitcoin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/bitcoin-hits-new-all-time-high-above-62000-ahead-of-coinbase-debut.html">continuously pushing new record highs</a>. A number of factors including rising institutional interest and major companies such as Tesla buying the digital coin have been credited with its rise.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CB=">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/20/blackrocks-rick-rieder-bitcoin-can-replace-gold-to-a-large-extent-.html">described as “digital gold”</a>&nbsp;or a store of value in times of geopolitical tumult or financial market volatility&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/09/stanley-druckenmiller-says-he-wouldnt-want-to-be-short-market-sees-stock-rotation-continuing.html">as well as a hedge against inflation</a>.



But Ethereum is different. It acts more as a platform that developers can build apps on. Ethereum is the name of the network or <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/blockchain-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work.html">underlying blockchain technology</a>, while ether is the digital currency used to power the platform.



So-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/01/ethereum-2point0-eth-cryptocurrencys-network-starts-a-major-upgrade.html">smart contracts are a key feature of Ethereum</a>. These are contracts that can be automatically executed using code.



There is growing excitement about the use of Ethereum in so-called decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications. These are blockchain-based financial services, such as lending, which could in theory bypass banks and brokerages.



Last month, the European Investment Bank said it issued its first ever digital bond on a public blockchain using Ethereum.



A rising number of DeFi applications built on Ethereum and growing institutional interest in the technology could be behind the rapid price rise.



“Thousands of developers are building applications that recreate traditional financial products in decentralized ways on top of Ethereum, and as more and more users pour in to interact with these apps, they require ETH (ether) to&nbsp;conduct any transaction,” Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of smart contract company Chainlink, said.



“Second, there seems to be growing institutional interest in the public Ethereum blockchain, as stakeholders play around with ways to leverage the public network.”

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Ethereum hits new record high above $3,400, extending its more than 300% rally this year

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the lack of clarity in U.S. regulation of cryptocurrencies is “frustrating.”



Known for the cryptocurrency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/XRP.BS=">XRP</a>, the fintech company has been caught in a high-stakes legal tussle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since last year.



In December, the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/22/sec-charges-cryptocurrency-firm-ripple-2-executives.html">SEC filed charges against the firm, Garlinghouse and a Ripple co-founder</a>, alleging they raised more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering.



Garlinghouse said the U.S. has yet to provide clear regulatory guidelines for cryptocurrencies unlike countries in Asia.



“I give credit to markets like Singapore and even parts of Korea where there really has been a thoughtful government-led effort to define and have clear regulatory frameworks around cryptocurrencies,” he told CNBC’s “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/asia-squawk-box/">Squawk Box Asia</a>” on Friday.



He cited the company’s ongoing legal battle with the SEC as an example of where the regulatory framework remains unclear.



“Ironically, here in the United States they have not provided that same clarity. It is the only country on the planet that has said XRP is anything other than a currency,” he noted. “The SEC has said&#8230; XRP is a security. And so we’re now engaged in a court discussion. So far, I feel good about how that’s been going, but it’s certainly frustrating.”



In a complaint filed in December, the SEC said Ripple “created an information vacuum” when it did not disclose the offering to investors. The agency argues the company was required to share this kind of material information with investors because XRP can be considered an investment contract “under certain circumstances” and “therefore a security under the federal securities laws.”



Financial regulators globally are looking into how they should regulate the cryptocurrency industry.&nbsp;



Garlinghouse downplayed the current scrutiny of cryptocurrencies, saying the industry should continue to focus on what these technologies provide to customers.



“I think at the end of the day, the industry should focus on utility. And are these technologies solving real problems for real customers,” he said, adding that Ripple will continue to leverage its XRP ledger and tokens to make payments efficient.

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Ripple CEO says the U.S. lacks regulatory clarity on cryptocurrency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105900013-1557315786407gettyimages-903631430.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-402692" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105900013-1557315786407gettyimages-903631430.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/105900013-1557315786407gettyimages-903631430-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, speaks during a TV interview in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018.Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>







LONDON — Cryptocurrency exchange Binance on Tuesday revealed plans to introduce its own marketplace where users can create, buy and sell digital collector’s items known as NFTs.



NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/what-are-nfts-all-you-need-to-know-about-crypto-collectibles.html">type of digital asset</a>. They’re designed to represent ownership of rare virtual items — that could be anything from works of art to sports trading cards like those sold on the popular online basketball collectibles platform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/28/230-million-dollars-spent-on-nba-top-shot.html">NBA Top Shot</a>.



Total sales of these tokens <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/nft-sales-top-2-billion-in-first-quarter-with-interest-from-newcomers.html">soared to more than $2 billion</a> in the first quarter, according to NonFungible.com, a website that tracks data on NFTs. And that figure doesn’t even account for the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/most-expensive-nft-ever-sold-auctions-for-over-60-million.html">record-breaking $69 million NFT</a> sold by digital artist Mike Winkelmann (AKA Beeple) at Christie’s in March.



Binance, which is the&nbsp;<a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world’s largest crypto exchange</a>&nbsp;by trading volumes, said its platform would operate two markets: A premium venue for top auctions and exhibitions and a standard trading market that anyone can use to mint new tokens.



The premium segment would take a 10% cut from the proceeds of major auctions, Binance said, with 90% going to artists. The day-to-day trading market will charge a 1% “processing fee,” while creators “will continuously receive 1% royalty,” according to Binance.



Binance’s NFT feature is set to debut in June. The company has launched a lander page for now which will let artists contact the firm about potential partnerships.



“Our aim is to provide the largest NFT trading platform in the world with the best minting, buying and exchanging experience, by leveraging the fastest and cheapest solutions powered by Binance blockchain infrastructure and community,” said Helen Hai, head of Binance’s NFT project.



The move marks a challenge to Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Gemini operates its own NFT marketplace called Nifty Gateway, which has hosted auctions from big names like Eminem and Grimes. It would also open up a new revenue stream for Binance, which has benefited considerably from the surging interest in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC.CB=">bitcoin</a> and other digital currencies.



Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., went public on the Nasdaq earlier this month. Like Binance, Coinbase has gotten a significant boost from surging crypto prices. Bitcoin, the world’s most popular digital currency, soared to an all-time high of nearly $65,000 ahead of Coinbase’s debut. It’s down almost 16% from that level now, however.



But there have been worries over signs of froth in the market. Some have compared the NFT boom to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/13/initial-coin-offering-ico-what-are-they-how-do-they-work.html">rise of initial coin offerings</a>, or ICOs, in late 2017 and early 2018. ICO mania led to a number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/09/cryptocurrency-scammers-of-giza-make-off-with-2-million-after-ico.html">scams</a>&nbsp;and many projects were ultimately abandoned. Meanwhile, dogecoin spiked to a record high above 45 cents a couple weeks back,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/16/dogecoin-doge-price-meme-cryptocurrencys-rise-sparks-bubble-fears.html">stoking fears of a bubble</a>&nbsp;in the crypto market.

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Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is launching an NFT marketplace

BOAO, China — China’s central bank is now calling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC.CB=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;an “investment alternative” — marking a significant shift in Beijing’s tone after a crackdown on cryptocurrency issuance and trading nearly four years ago.



Industry insiders called the comments “progressive” and are watching closely for any regulatory changes made by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).



“We regard Bitcoin and stablecoin as crypto assets &#8230; These are investment alternatives,” Li Bo, deputy governor of the PBOC, said on Sunday during a panel hosted by CNBC at the Boao Forum for Asia.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-402014" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this photo illustration, the Bitcoin logo is seen on a mobile device with People’s Republic of China flag in the background. (Photo Illustration by t/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“They are not currency per se. And so the main role we see for crypto assets going forward, the main role is investment alternative.”



Bitcoin was up around 2% at 12:25 p.m. Beijing time at over $57,134.04, according to Coindesk data.



China was once one of the world’s largest buyers of bitcoin.



But in 2017,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/chinese-icos-china-bans-fundraising-through-initial-coin-offerings-report-says.html">China banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs)</a>, a way to raise money for crypto companies by issuing digital tokens. That same year, authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/bitcoin-price-falls-on-reports-that-china-is-closing-local-exchanges.html">shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges</a>. The moves were prompted by concerns about financial stability.



As investment alternatives, “many countries, including China, are still looking into it and thinking about what kind of regulatory requirements. Maybe minimal, but we need to have some kind of regulatory requirement to prevent &#8230; the speculation of such assets to create any serious financial stability risks,” Li said.



He added that the central bank will keep its current regulations on cryptocurrencies.



Li’s latest comments highlight a potential shift in tone from the PBOC.



Flex Yang, CEO and founder of Babel Finance, called the comments “progressive” in an interview with CNBC on Monday. Babel Finance is a crypto financial services company.



“I think it is quite significant and is definitely different to their previous statements or positions on public cryptocurrencies,” Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, told CNBC by email.



Bitcoin appears to have become more mainstream in the financial world and has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/04/bitcoin-btc-rally-partly-driven-by-more-institutional-investors-pwc-says.html">gained interest from institutional investors</a>. Major corporations such as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/SQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Square</a> in the U.S. have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">purchased large sums of bitcoin</a>. The price of bitcoin is up 95% this year and last week, the cryptocurrency hit a record high above $64,000.



That all-time high coincided with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-to-debut-on-nasdaq-in-direct-listing.html">direct listing of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase</a>, which one investor called a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/14/coinbase-debut-is-a-watershed-for-crypto-but-there-are-risks-ahead.html">“watershed” moment for the industry</a>.



“Governments are realizing that it is a viable and established, yet growing, asset class and need to regulate it. China regulating&nbsp;crypto would be another massive boost to the industry in China and globally,” Ayyar said, talking about the motivation behind the PBOC’s shift in tone.



China is working on its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/05/chinas-digital-yuan-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work.html">own digital currency called the digital yuan</a>. It is not a cryptocurrency and it is different to bitcoin. It will be issued by the PBOC. The aim is to replace cash and coins in circulation.



China has been carrying out a number of tests with the digital currency in major cities and Li said that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/china-may-trial-digital-currency-with-foreign-visitors-at-beijing-olympics.html">central bank could trial the digital yuan with foreign visitors at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics</a>.

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After a bitcoin crackdown, China now calls it an ‘investment alternative’ in a significant shift in tone

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106867602-1618330918041-gettyimages-1312152746-_e6w9907_2021041263220008.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-401987" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106867602-1618330918041-gettyimages-1312152746-_e6w9907_2021041263220008.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/106867602-1618330918041-gettyimages-1312152746-_e6w9907_2021041263220008-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Chesnot | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/bitcoin/">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;tumbled over the weekend and was down as much as 19.5% from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/bitcoin-hits-new-all-time-high-above-62000-ahead-of-coinbase-debut.html">record highs</a>&nbsp;posted by the popular cryptocurrency in the past week.



Bitcoin dropped as low as $52,148.98 on Sunday morning after reaching an all-time high&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/14/bitcoin-btc-and-ether-eth-prices-rally-ahead-of-coinbase-listing.html">above $64,800</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinDesk</a>. It was last trading just over $55,795.



Other cryptocurrencies, including ether and dogecoin, also took a hit over the weekend. The price of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ETH=">ether</a>, the second-biggest token by market value, dropped as much as 18% and fell below $2,000 on Sunday before more recently trading at over $2,150. The token had also recently hit record highs, topping $2,500 on Thursday.



Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=DOGE.CM=">dogecoin</a>, which soared more than 400% at one point last week and hit an all-time high of 45 cents, dropped as low as 24 cents this weekend.



What exactly is driving the drop is unclear.



An unverified report on Twitter claimed that the U.S. Treasury Department could be looking to crack down on financial institutions for money laundering using cryptocurrency.



A <a href="https://twitter.com/Fxhedgers/status/1383611847144730626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1383611847144730626%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2021%2F04%2F18%2Fbitcoin-plunges-from-recent-high-as-cryptocurrencies-take-weekend-hit.html">tweet</a> from the account <a href="https://twitter.com/Fxhedgers?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@Fxhedgers</a> that referred to the possibility of a crackdown, citing unnamed sources, went viral on Saturday evening.



The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.



The cryptocurrencies hit record highs this past week amid the excitement surrounding the stock market debut of cryptocurrency trading platform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/COIN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, which became the largest cryptocurrency company to go public on Wednesday. The company’s blockbuster direct listing briefly valued Coinbase at about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/15/coinbase-coin-climbs-11percent-in-premarket-after-nasdaq-debut.html">$100 billion</a>&nbsp;(before falling to just over $62 billion by the end of the week), giving a boost to the rest of the cryptocurrency industry.



Despite those record prices, some investors have been concerned that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/13/bitcoin-is-a-bubble-say-74percent-of-bank-of-america-survey-respondents.html">experiencing a bubble</a>. The recent spike by dogecoin, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/dogecoin-cryptocurrency-rises-over-400percent-after-reddit-group-talks-it-up.html">started as a joke</a>&nbsp;based on the 2013 “Doge” meme, in particular, has fueled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/16/dogecoin-doge-price-meme-cryptocurrencys-rise-sparks-bubble-fears.html">concerns of a bubble</a>&nbsp;in the cryptocurrency market.

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Ethereum hits new record high above $3,400, extending its more than 300% rally this year

Ripple CEO says the U.S. lacks regulatory clarity on cryptocurrency

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is launching an NFT marketplace

After a bitcoin crackdown, China now calls it an ‘investment alternative’ in a significant shift in tone

Bitcoin tumbles from recent high as cryptocurrencies take weekend hit

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Crypto

Bitcoin attempts to close in on $40,000 after Elon Musk said he spoke to miners about energy usage

Cryptocurrencies attempt a positive start to the week after wild plunges

Stock futures rise after Dow, S&P 500 post losing week

Bitcoin resumes sell-off over weekend, falls below $32,000

Bitcoin’s star backers, dip buyers help cryptos recover

NYU’s ‘dean of valuation’ argues ether has a better chance of becoming a commodity than bitcoin

Bitcoin’s wild price moves stem from its design — you’ll need strong nerves to trade it

Dollar steadies ahead of Fed, cryptos plummet after China move

Crypto crash deepens, stocks slip

$280 billion wiped off crypto market as bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks

As much as $365 billion wiped off cryptocurrency market after Tesla stops car purchases with bitcoin

Ethereum: What is it and how is it different to bitcoin?

Ethereum hits new record high above $3,400, extending its more than 300% rally this year

Ripple CEO says the U.S. lacks regulatory clarity on cryptocurrency

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is launching an NFT marketplace

After a bitcoin crackdown, China now calls it an ‘investment alternative’ in a significant shift in tone

Bitcoin tumbles from recent high as cryptocurrencies take weekend hit

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