Bitcoin price latest: Cryptocurrency value plummets by 15% after futures trading launches

The value of bitcoin tumbled by more than 15 per cent on Friday, down roughly 30 per cent from its record high of nearly $20,000 (£14,950) set at the start of the week.

The price of the digital currency fell as low as $12,504 on Friday morning, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index. At 1:22pm London time it was trading at $12,880.11, according to the website.

It has been a volatile month for the cryptocurrency which has surged in value from under $1,000 at the start of the year.

Bitcoin hit a record high of $19,666 on Sunday in the lead up to exchange giant CME Group’s launch of its bitcoin futures. It has since lost about a third of its value.

It was not immediately clear what caused the sudden fall in price.

The success of bitcoin has led to a rise in in rival cryptocurrencies and competition in the market is heating up.

Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for retail FX broker Oanda in Singapore, told Reuters that there have been moves out of bitcoin into Bitcoin Cash, a clone of the original cryptocurrency.

“Most of it is unsophisticated retail traders getting burned badly,” Mr Innes said on bitcoin’s recent retreat.

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