Investing.com –Bitcoin fell on Monday after regulators in the U.S. and Canada launched an operation to crackdown on fraudulent cryptocurrency activity.
Bitcoin fell 1.69% to $8,366.1 on the Bitfinex exchange as it struggled to hold gains at session highs of $8,644.0.
The turn lower in bitcoin came as the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASSA) unveiled “Operation Cryptosweep,” which has led to at least 70 investigations so far, according to a statement on the website of the Alabama Securities Commission.
"The actions announced today are just the tip of the iceberg," Joseph Borg, head of the Alabama commission and current president of the NASAA, said in the statement.
“Not every ICO or cryptocurrency-related investment is fraudulent, but we urge investors to approach any initial coin offering or cryptocurrency-related investment product with extreme caution.”
The announcement cut short bitcoin’s revival following its recent slump, prompting a wider selloff in the crypto market. The total market cap of cryptocurrencies fell to about $380 billion, at the time of writing.
The downward move in bitcoin was mirrored by other large-cap cryptocurrencies.
Ripple XRP fell 3.53% to $0.67343 on the Poloniex exchange, while Ethereum fell 3.71% to $692.60.
Bitcoin Cash fell 1.80% to $1,222.10, while Litecoin fell 3.61% to $134.23.