Bitcoin plummets after hitting record high in Japan
Bitcoin value plummeted 12 percent on Friday after hitting a record high of 2.4 million yen ($21,167) in the first few hours of trading in Japan.
Bitcoin touched a high at 8 am on Coincheck, one of the biggest Bitcoin exchanges in Japan, and a little bit lower on bitFlyer, another main exchange firm, reports Efe news. After that, prices tumbled, reaching an intraday low of 1.6 million yen at 2 pm, although later it stabilised around 2 million yen.
The cryptocurrency continues to make new records daily, showing a sustained rise - despite severe volatility - since the beginning of this year, when it was valued 20 times lower than currently. The value of Bitcoin has doubled in the last two weeks due to futures trading over its price in markets in the US, leading to growing interest among both individual investors and financial firms.
Products related to the virtual currency could also be launched in Tokyo's financial markets from next year, a conglomerate of companies operating in Tokyo has said. The high volatility in the virtual currency market and huge influx of investors on Thursday led to the main international exchanges offering very different rates and some of them suffering technical problems temporarily.
Japan was one of the first countries in the world to legalise Bitcoin, recognising it as a mode of payment in April, making it an important investment asset in the third biggest economy worldwide.
Bitcoin is a decentralised virtual currency founded in 2009, and based on Blockchain technology, which is also used in other cryptocurrencies, in which the material value is based on data encryption.