Bitcoin slipped to a five-week low on Thursday that also marked a drop of nearly a quarter in the cryptocurrency’s value during the first two weeks of March.
The cryptocurrency dipped as much as 5.4 per cent to $7,753 during the morning session in Asia, its lowest since February 9 and down almost 25 per cent since the end of February, according to Reuters data tracking the Bitstamp trading venue.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, fell 4.8 per cent to $585, dipping below the $600 level for the first time since early December.
Bitcoin has weathered a series of blows this month. The US Securities and Exchange Commission last week warned investors that cryptoccurrency exchanges were not regulated.
Google on Wednesday said it would ban advertisements for cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings - a crowdfunding mechanism using digital currencies - as well as cryptocurrency exchanges, trading advice and wallets from June.
The move by the search company is part of a crackdown on risky unregulated financial products and follows Facebook’s decision in January to ban all advertisements for cryptocurrencies and ICOs