The cryptocurrency resumed its slide on Monday, giving up the weekend’s grudging gains as regulators continued to circle.
European officials reiterated their warnings about the risks of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin fell 5 percent to around $29,700 in Asian trade on Monday, sliding along with stocks amid concerns about high inflation and rising interest rates.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has lost about a fifth of its value so far this month, as the stunning collapse of the so-called stablecoin TerraUSD has roiled the crypto market, which has fallen amid a broad sell-off in venture capital.
TerraUSD broke its 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar last week and is now trading near 14 cents, according to price website coingecko, drawing particular attention to stablecoins and their vital role in crypto. Some of that attention comes from financial regulators.
Crypto assets could be disruptive if they go unregulated and interoperate in a consistent and appropriate manner across jurisdictions, Bank of France President François Villeroy de Gallo said at a conference on Monday. international financial system.
He pointed to stablecoins as one source of risk, which he said was wrong in a way.
Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive council of the European Central Bank, also said on Monday that stablecoins are vulnerable to runs.
The world’s largest stablecoin, Tether, briefly lost its 1:1 peg on May 12 before recovering. Unlike TerraUSD, Tether is backed by traditional asset reserves, according to its operating company.
On the same day, Bitcoin fell to $25,400, its lowest level since December 2020, but recovered to a high of $31,400 on Sunday.
The second-largest cryptocurrency, ether, fell 5.6 percent to around $2,000 on Monday.
Regulators elsewhere are also concerned. The Federal Reserve warned last week that stablecoins are vulnerable to investor runs because their assets could lose value or become illiquid under market stress.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the syndicated feed.)