Good afternoon and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime.
A week of dreadful losses sees bitcoin prices tumble down close to $6,000 a coin, as investors struggle to rally.
Bitcoin fell another 4.31 percent to trade at $6,155.74, a loss of just under $1,000 in less than a week.
The rest of the market has suffered from bitcoin’s slump too, with Ethereum losing 11.74 percent on the day to trade at $318.76.
Ripple lost 11.11 percent to trade for $0.299337, while Litecoin fell 9.81 percent to sell for $56.61.
Bitcoin prices are stagnating as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) debates the approval of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for bitcoin.
Approval of the proposal could see BTC prices skyrocket, but continued uncertainty has seen investors lose confidence.
Analysts predict BTC could plummet as low as $4,000 if the issue isn't resolved, but is this the end of bitcoin?
6.26pm UPDATE: Bitcoin familiarity increases in USA
More than half a billion Americans say they are familiar with bitcoin Litecoin and Ethereum.
A new study published by the AICPA has revealed that more than 50 percent of all Americans are aware of cryptocurrencies, with 54 percent of respondents anticipating the crypto market to either remain stable or increase in value in the next year.
The survey also revealed that cryptocurrencies are set to constitute five percent of the total U.S. investment pool in the next year as retail investors enter the crypto market on a large scale.
