Josue Decavele/Reuters
Cryptocurrencies dominated the markets on Friday.
Bitcoin ended its worst week since 2013 with a plunge below $11,000 in a reversal that skeptics, and even some investors, expected after a breathtaking surge.
The cryptocurrency was down by as much as 45% from its recent high of nearly $20,000. Its move prompted trading halts on Coinbase , the largest US crypto exchange, and in futures trading at CME Group. The sell-off spilled into other smaller digital currency markets including ethereum and litecoin.Major equity indexes closed lower but little changed on the last working day of 2017 for some traders.
Here's the scoreboard:
- Dow: 24,745.79, -36.50, (-0.15%)
- S&P 500: 2,682.67, -1.90, (-0.07%)
- Nasdaq: 6,959.49, -5.87, (-0.08%)
- 10-year yield: 2.485%, +0.002
- President Donald Trump signed the massive GOP tax bill into law before heading to Mar-a-Lago for Christmas . The bill overhauls the tax code for individuals and businesses, eliminates the Affordable Care Act's so-called individual mandate, and opens parts of Alaska up to oil drilling.
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch will pay employees making up to $150,000 per year a one-time $1,000 bonus, according to a memo cited by The Wall Street Journal. Also, Texas Capital Bank and Sinclair Broadcast Group on Friday announced special bonuses because of the tax cuts.
- Mike Novogratz, the famed hedge funder turned crypto-junky, is shelving a plan to start a cryptocurrency hedge fund . He told Bloomberg he thinks bitcoin could fall to as low as $8,000 a coin.
Additionally:
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We now know who was behind the $1 million bet that bitcoin could soar to $50,000