Bitcoin fell to USD 6,190 for the first time in three months. The virtual currency saw an unprecedented and meteoric 26-fold rise last year before falling by a very sharp 20 percent.
This crash comes six weeks after Bitcoin hit USD 19,511. There are however warning that the cryptocurrency would fall by another 50 percent.
Across the globe, Bitcoin has faced severe crackdowns by governments. On February 1, the Indian Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, said during his Budget 2018 speech that the government would take all measures to eliminate its use in the payment system. "The Government does not consider crypto-currencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system," he said.
There were also crackdowns in China, South Korea one of its biggest markets, and Russia. In Japan too, authorities raided an exchange after it lost 530 million to hackers.
Central banks in Europe, US and Japan have expressed concerns about Bitcoin. JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of America have also announced their decision to ban cryptocurrency purchases by their credit card holders.
American economist Nouriel Roubini called it 'the biggest bubble in human history'. Even Warren Buffet called it a bubble in October last year. He said, "You can't value Bitcoin because it's not a value-producing asset. It's a mirage basically".
