LONDON - Bitcoin slumped more than 10% over the weekend to a two-week low as fears of a crackdown of cryptocurrencies grew on mounting scrutiny of Facebook's planned Libra digital coin.
Politicians and financial regulators across the world have called for close scrutiny of Facebook's Libra coin, with concerns ranging from consumer protection and privacy to its potential systemic risks given the social media giant's global reach. U.S. President Donald Trump had last week criticized bitcoin, Libra and other cryptocurrencies, demanding that firms seek a banking charter and subject themselves to U.S. and global regulations if they wanted to"become a bank".
"Together they have increased the tail risk that the U.S. will look to crack down on it in some way," said Jamie Farquhar, portfolio manager at crypto firm NKB Group in London.