Investing.com - Bitcoin appeared to think twice on Monday, after facing the $20,000 mark a day earlier, and pulled back at the same time that the long-awaited launch of CME Bitcoin futures got underway.
On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin was down 8.13%, or $1,332.0, at $17,717.0 by 9:52AM ET (14:52GMT). The digital currency -that trades 24 hours a day, 7 days a week- pulled back from an all-time high of $19,891.00 a day earlier.
Cryptocurrency mania has been led this year by Bitcoin, the largest digital currency with a market cap of $303.58 billion, with year-to-date gains of more than 1,800%.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched its own Bitcoin Futures on Sunday following rival CBOE’s own version just a week earlier.
The launch of futures trading has drawn a mixed reaction from investors, as it provides market participants with the option to place bearish bets on bitcoin, which could pressure the price of digital currency.
Other market participants believe, however, that the launch of futures paves the way for bitcoin to become an established asset class, which would spur institutional demand.
Some traders suggested that Monday’s losses were due more to profit-taking as investors sold on the actual launch of the CME futures contracts.
Meanwhile, the argument over whether Bitcoin is in a bubble after rising more than 1,800% this year remains a hot topic, with some fans predicting the price could rise to as high as $25,000 by the end of the year.
Regulators have been keeping a close watch over cryptocurrencies as they are by-and-large unregulated. However, the move by exchanges to create derivatives based on the product as moved digital currencies into the cross-hairs.
Among a growing number of critics from international banks, UBS chairman Axel Weber argued Monday that the digital currency was neither “valuable nor sustainable”.
“As soon as small investors invest, the regulators are required.... I would welcome a discussion with regulators about cryptocurrencies,” Weber told Swiss newspaper NZZ.
Elsewhere in cryptocurrencies, Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, rose 1.21% to $717.00, Bitcoin-offshoot Bitcoin Cash gained 11.04% to $2,029.60, Ripple advanced 0.40% to $0.71486, while Litecoin fell 1.84% to $318.75.