Bitcoin Erases Loss, Bounces Back From Lowest Level in 2018

Cryptocurrency value down about two-thirds from December peak
Volatility comes amid calls for tighter crypto regulation

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Bitcoin erased its loss after setting a 2018 low earlier on Sunday, with the volatility reflecting increased scrutiny by government regulators on the embryonic digital-currency sector and global central bankers raising questions about its viability.

The biggest virtual currency was up less than 1 percent to $6,181.84 at 5:16 p.m. New York time on Sunday, after earlier falling as much as 5.2 percent to pierce the year’s previous low of $5,920.72 that was set Feb. 6, according Bitstamp prices. That brought its decline from the record high of almost $20,000 reached in December to 68 percent.

Sunday’s volatility occurred as the economic adviser and head of research for the Bank of International Settlements in Switzerland said many cryptocurrencies should be regulated like stocks and bonds. A week earlier, the BIS issued a report concluding that Bitcoin is ill-equipped to ever be a form of legal tender that could store value or handle the volume of transactions that are processed in the current financial system.