After a furious week for cryptocurrencies, bitcoin plummeted over the weekend, plummeting nearly 14% in less than an hour, from about $59,000 to $51,000 on Saturday night, to then recover. Other popular cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum and dogecoin, also fell sharply, before recouping some of their losses.
Bitcoin’s value has soared this year as it gains traction, but the sharp drop in its price this weekend appears to have been sparked by an unconfirmed rumor on Twitter that the US Treasury Department was planning cracking down on money laundering schemes related to cryptocurrencies.
The government agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
The rapid fall of bitcoin overnight on Saturday is the latest indicator that the cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile.
Last week, the excitement for cryptocurrencies appeared to peak when trading platform Coinbase went public with a valuation of $86 billion; after this, a huge 500% rally followed for dogecoin, an asset that was created as a joke in 2013.
Cryptocurrency supporters have been insisting for years that bitcoin, ethereum, and other digital currencies could revolutionize the world of finance, And, with the success of Coinbase’s debut on Wall Street on Wednesday, those supporters are finally having their prime.
Tesla has started accepting bitcoin payments on the purchase of its cars and now has a portion of the digital currency on its balance sheet.
Payment processors, such as PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa, are trying to streamline cryptocurrency payments on their networks.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs will soon offer its private wealth management clients avenues to invest in Bitcoin and other digital currencies, and Morgan Stanley announced that it will provide its clients with access to Bitcoin funds.