The price of Bitcoin fell sharply on Saturday as small digital coins such as Solana, Cardano and Dogecoin sold off following the SEC’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges.
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Bitcoin fell to $25,501 early Saturday, returning to its worst levels since March, set earlier in the week. Bitcoin price is currently down 3.7% from 24 hours earlier at around $25,650. Smaller tokens dipped to 2003 lows or worse on Saturday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed 13 charges against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and co-founder Changpeng Zhao, for alleged securities violations and illegal operating in the United States. On Tuesday, the SEC targeted the American cryptocurrency giant. Coinbase (COIN), claiming it operated as an unregistered stock exchange.
The SEC has also designated a number of tokens as unregistered securities, including Cardano and Solana.
The news sent cryptocurrencies and COIN stocks plummeting earlier this week. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest bought an additional $21 million worth of Coinbase shares on Tuesday. Stocks rebounded somewhat, but COIN stock still plunged 17.5% for the week.
Saturday’s drop could reflect general concern about the SEC’s regulatory crackdown, as well as fears that liquidity is drying up, especially for smaller digital coins.
Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, fell 5.8% on Saturday to $1,742
Cardano fell 22% to 24.78 cents, hit a 52-week low of 22.95 cents overnight.
Dogecoin, long touted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, slipped 15.4% to 5.97 cents, falling to 5.42 cents overnight.
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