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(Previous) highlight of the hype:
Bitcoin advertising in Times Square for the IPO of the crypto platform Coinbase on April 14th.
Since peaking at around $ 65,000, Bitcoin has lost more than 40 percent of its value within five weeks.
Photo: John Angelillo / imago images / UPI Photo
The fall in Bitcoin prices continues: A tightening of regulations in China has accelerated the sell-off of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin lost around 10 percent on Wednesday and temporarily slipped below the $ 40,000 mark. Since the record high of around $ 65,000 in mid-April, when the crypto trading platform Coinbase made its stock market debut, Bitcoin has now lost more than 40 percent of its value.
The second most important digital currency, ether, connected to the Ethereum blockchain network, slumped 15 percent to $ 2,875 on Wednesday. The news from Beijing that China wanted to severely restrict financial services related to crypto currencies put the cyber currency under great pressure. The Chinese central bank had emphasized that digital currencies should not be used as a means of payment.
In March, US tax plans had already put the cryptocurrency under severe pressure.
US President Joe Biden plans to roughly double capital gains taxes.
Stockbrokers fear that this will reduce the attractiveness of cryptocurrencies as an investment.
In Germany, the taxation of crypto profits is legally controversial.
The Federal Ministry of Finance announced to the manager magazin that it would soon be clarified to the tax offices.
Crypto taxation in Germany:
"Investors should object to their tax assessment"
The latest tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk also contributed to the slide in Bitcoin and Co.
Musk bought Bitcoin for more than a billion dollars in January.
Then, however, rumors arose that Tesla had parted with part of the financial commitment.
Most recently, Musk also withdrew the announcement that Tesla customers could pay for their cars with Bitcoin.
As long as the energy consumption in mining Bitcoin is so high, Bitcoin cannot be accepted as a means of payment.
Miners ensure a comeback of fossil fuels:
Bitcoin - the dirtiest currency in the world
Despite the recent losses, Bitcoin is still clearly in positive territory in the medium and long term.
Since the end of 2020, the increase has been more than 50 percent.
Bitcoin has still gained around 300 percent in value within twelve months.
For some time, however, a shift from Bitcoin to other Internet currencies such as Ether, Binance, Tether, XRP or Dogecoin has been observed among the many cryptocurrencies.
la / Reuters, dpa