After a red-hot rally to start the year, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen back below $22,000 U.S. to reach a four-week low as lawmakers in America ratchet up their threats to regulate the cryptocurrency sector.
The price of Bitcoin had soared 40% to start the year and topped $23,000 U.S. before pulling back over the last week as the potential for new regulations governing crypto intensifies.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, currently accounts for 39.4% of the market followed by Ethereum’s (ETH) 17.7% share.
Ethereum, and other major cryptocurrencies such as Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE), are also seeing their prices fall, having declined about 4% over the past week.
The current slump comes amid widespread reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating popular cryptocurrency exchange Kraken for alleged securities violations, and as politicians in Washington, D.C. call for the regulation of crypto.
Coinbase (COIN) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Armstrong took to Twitter and claimed that the SEC is likely to get rid of crypto staking in the U.S. for retail investors, comments that hurt sentiment.
Despite the current pullback, the price of Bitcoin remains up 30% on the year at $21,750.00 U.S.
