On Sunday (18), the cryptocurrency scene was hit by a bloodbath of wholesale declines. After Bitcoin took the lead by plunging $8,000 in an hour, other cryptocurrencies then plunged across the board. Ether sank 14.31% at one point, while Ripple and Stellar both fell by more than 20%. Public opinion believes that the strengthening of regulators in various countries to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for crimes such as money laundering may be the main reason for triggering this round of cryptocurrency plunge.
At around 11:00 a.m. Beijing time on April 18, Bitcoin, which has been consistently high recently, suddenly appeared a “flash crash”, plunging nearly $8,000 within an hour.
Bitcoin’s flash crash immediately triggered a chain effect, causing other digital currencies to plunge across the board. In just 24 hours, Ether (ETH) fell 12%, BNB fell 13.33%, Ripple fell 20.87%, Dogcoin plunged 12.87%, Litecoin plunged 20.87%, and EOS plunged 23.45%. And this wave of rapid digital currency declines led to the forced liquidation of $4 billion in Bitcoin financial derivatives, with over 470,000 people blowing their positions and a total of $39.5 billion in funds going up in smoke.
(Web Screenshot)
On Sunday the same day there was market news that the U.S. Treasury Department would charge several financial institutions with using cryptocurrencies to launder money. Some believe that the fact that government financial regulators are starting to strengthen their efforts to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used for money laundering and other actions may be the main reason for triggering this round of digital currency plunge.
According to public information, Jesse Powell, the chief executive of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, said in a media interview last Monday (12) that U.S. regulators’ suspicions about cryptocurrencies would not disappear in the near future. He said that financial officials such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde have issued warnings about the use of bitcoin for money laundering, terrorist financing and other illegal activities.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also said last week that bitcoin looks like a speculative tool. There are expectations that a regulatory storm may be coming for cryptocurrencies.
Indeed, as investors in cryptocurrencies grow, governments are tightening their grip on cryptocurrency market risks. For example, the U.S. government recently proposed an anti-money laundering rule that requires those who deposit digital currencies in their e-wallets to undergo identity checks if their transactions exceed $3,000 or more; the Turkish Central Bank banned the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method as of April 30, citing the anonymity of cryptocurrencies as presenting “irreparable ” damage and transaction risks.
Recent Comments