(Aug 2): Bitcoin retreated Monday back toward US$40,000 after climbing over the weekend to the highest levels since May.
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The largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 3% and was trading at US$40,380 as of 7:03 a.m. in Hong Kong. Other virtual coins including second-ranked Ether also fell. A trigger for the declines beyond possible profit-taking wasn’t immediately apparent.
Bitcoin has rallied over the past two weeks, breaking past the upper bound of a prolonged trading range between US$30,000 and US$40,000. It’s been bolstered by supportive comments from billionaire Elon Musk and Ark Investment Management LLC’s Cathie Wood, as well as speculation over Amazon.com Inc.’s possible involvement in the cryptocurrency sector.
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At the same time, scrutiny of the industry is intensifying. That includes a push by U.S. legislators for stricter rules on cryptocurrency investors to collect more taxes to fund a portion of a planned US$550 billion investment into transportation and power systems.-BLOOMBERG