Bitcoin stumbles out of 2018 starting blocks

Bitcoin is already having a bad year.

For the first time since 2015, the cryptocurrency began a new year by tumbling, extending its slide from a record $US19,511 reached on December 18.

The virtual coin traded at $US13,150 as of 12.58pm in New York, down 8.1 per cent from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also a fall from the $US14,156 it hit Sunday, according to coinmarketcap.com, which tracks daily prices.

Bitcoin got off to a much stronger start last year, and then kept that momentum going, eventually creating a global frenzy for cryptocurrencies. In a sign of its phenomenal price gain in 2017, it rose 3.6 per cent on the first day of 2017 to $US998, data from coinmarketcap.com show. It ended the year up more than 1,300 per cent.

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Source: Bitcoin stumbles out of 2018 starting blocks | afr.com