Investing.com - Digital currency bitcoin was hovering near five-week lows on Sunday as renewed concerns over the prospect of increased regulatory scrutiny weighed in the wake of a raid by prosecutors on South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Bitcoin was trading at $8,525.7 by 06:53 AM ET (10:53 AM GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, after falling as low as $8,204.50 on Saturday, the weakest level since April 18.
South Korean prosecutors raided the offices of Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on Thursday and Friday, on suspicion of fraud, according to local news agency Yonhap.
In a notice to clients, the company confirmed that it is currently under investigation and is cooperating with the authorities and added that client assets are safe.
The raid revived concerns that heightened regulatory scrutiny could dampen investor enthusiasm for digital assets.
Other major cryptocurrencies traded mixed, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, up around 0.88% to $688.00 on the Bitfinex exchange, off Saturday’s two-week lows of $666.00.
The third largest cryptocurrency Ripple was down around 2.6% to trade at $0.68 after falling as low as $0.62 on Saturday, a level not seen since April 24.