The world’s largest cryptocurrency slid 11% to a price of $31,629 Tuesday.
Bitcoin’s price slipped again Tuesday after US officials managed to recover most of the ransom paid to hackers that targeted Colonial Pipeline in May.
Court documents said investigators were able to access the password for one of the hackers’ bitcoin wallets. The money was recovered by a recently launched task force in Washington created as part of the government’s response to a rise in cyberattacks.
Bitcoin accelerated its slide late Tuesday morning, falling almost 11% at 11 a.m. ET to a price of $31,629, according to Coin Metrics data. Smaller digital coins also slumped.
As recently as April, 2021 was looking to be a banner year for digital assets, with bitcoin having topped $60,000 for the first time ever. But a recent plunge in crypto prices has shaken confidence in the market. Bitcoin sank to nearly $30,000 last month, and is currently down almost 50% from its all-time high.
