LONDON:
Bitcoin fell 8 per cent on Tuesday, breaching $10,000 for the first time in two weeks after US lawmakers grilled
Facebook on its
cryptocurrency plans, as political and regulatory scrutiny of digital coins intensifies.
The biggest cryptocurrency fell to $9828.89 after David Marcus, the company's top executive overseeing the planned
Libra project, answered questions from the Senate Banking Committee. Earlier in the day, bitcoin had lost around 3 per cent.
Traders said the trigger for the selling was not immediately clear. During the testimony, a U.S. senator said Facebook was "delusional" to believe people will trust it with their money as the social media giant fights to get Washington onside for its planned Libra project, aimed for launch in 2020.