cryptocurrency

 Bitcoin has fallen to below $ 6,000, its lowest price since November 2017

2018 The best year to invest in Bitcoin

The price of bitcoin fell to $ 5,947.40 (£4,256.44) on Tuesday, according to a price index published by news website Coindesk.

Bitcoin peaked in November, when it reached $ 19,000, and then began to fall steadily since mid-December.

The latest drop comes a day after several major banks in the U.S. and the U.K. prohibit customers from using credit cards to purchase the digital currency. .

The tightening of legislation in several countries seems to have shaken confidence in cryptocurrencies.

As of Tuesday:

• Ethereum's price, which at its peak on Jan. 9 was $ 1,255.89, is now $ 574.42.
• Bitcoin Cash, which peaked at $ 4,091.70 on Dec. 20, 2017, is down to $ 766.03.
• Litecoin, which reached $ 366.01 on Dec. 19, 2017, is down to $ 106.94.

Tightening legislation

Chinese state media reports that China will soon take steps to prevent investors from accessing foreign virtual currency exchanges, although it is unclear how the government intends to accomplish this.

China and South Korea digital currencies have already been banned while Japan and Australia have taken steps to tighten Bitcoin regulations.

he United States is likely to follow suit: on Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are due to testify before the Senate regarding digital currencies.

The heads of both regulators are expected to recommend that the U.S. government tighten rules governing the cryptocurrency market to reduce the risks of fraud and market manipulation, according to previously published testimony.

While they are not banning cryptocurrencies, financial regulators in the UK and France have warned investors that they could lose all their money if they buy digital coins issued by companies, known as "initial coin offerings."

In addition to legislation, virtual currencies have been dogged by criminals attempting to hack wallet services to steal users' funds.

A U.S. man is currently suing T-Mobile over a security breach that allowed hackers to access his mobile number and compromise his accounts. encrypted to steal 2,875 Bitcoin, according to legal news service Law360 .