Investing.com - The price of digital currency bitcoin fell to the lowest levels since November on Monday as a selloff sparked by fears over tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies deepened.
Bitcoin was trading at $7,800 by 03:46 AM ET (08:46 AM GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, the weakest level since November 19.
Cryptocurrency prices fell sharply on Friday in a selloff which saw over $100 billion of value wiped off the market and sent bitcoin below $8,000 for the first time since November.
Bitcoin and rival cryptocurrencies have been hit by a range of factors, including fears over tighter regulation and ongoing concerns over digital currency tether and its ability to collapse the bitcoin market.
U.S. regulators are investigating whether the spike in the price of bitcoin in 2017 was the result of market manipulation.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been investigating the Bitfinex exchange over its links to digital asset Tether, amid fears that it is being used to artificially inflate bitcoin prices.
Tether is a company that issues a widely traded coin, which its claims is backed by U.S. dollars held in reserve, but has never provided any evidence to confirm this.
Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group announced Monday that it has banned its customers from buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using credit cards.
The announcement came after U.S. lenders J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup said Friday they are no longer allowing customers to buy cryptocurrencies using credit cards.
The move comes amid fears that lenders could end up footing the bill for unpaid debts should cryptocurrency prices continue to fall.
On Friday, Nouriel Roubini, the economist credited with predicting the 2008 global financial crisis said bitcoin was “the mother of all bubbles.”
Bitcoin’s recent sharp fall was the beginning of a crash that would see the value of the digital currency plummet “all the way down to zero,” he added.
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, traded down around 15% at $796 on the Bitfinex exchange.
The third largest cryptocurrency Ripple fell around 18% to $0.76.