The wild ride for cryptocurrencies continues.
The cryptocurrency market edged higher in pre-market trading Monday (May 24) after plunging over the weekend. The price of Bitcoin was near $37,000 U.S. early on Monday after plummeting to less than $32,000 U.S. on Sunday.
Bitcoin was up 8% at $36,764.83 U.S. Monday morning, according to CoinDesk, which put the market capitalization of the world’s largest digital coin at $686 billion U.S..
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, rose from less than $1,800 U.S. on Sunday to over $2,300 U.S. in pre-market trading on Monday. Ethereum has risen 14% in less than 24 hours and now has a market capitalization of around $266 billion U.S., according to CoinDesk.
Cryptocurrency Dogecoin also showed signs of recovery, with its price rising from 24 cents U.S. on Sunday to 33 cents U.S. on Monday.
Last week’s broad sell-off in cryptocurrencies came after authorities in China and the U.S. moved to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies. Chinese regulators called for tighter regulation on crypto mining and trading, and the U.S. Treasury announced that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Bitcoin plunged last week to nearly $30,000 U.S., its lowest price since late January, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency peaked in April near $65,000 U.S. per coin.
The sell-off is a major reversal for the cryptocurrency, which appeared to be gaining traction among major Wall Street banks and publicly traded companies. This month, however, Bitcoin has been hit by a series of negative headlines from major influencers and regulators.
A report by investment bank JPMorgan shows that large institutional investors are now dumping Bitcoin in favor of gold, raising questions about institutional support for cryptocurrency assets.
