Crypto alert! Bitcoin slumps 8% as it heads for bruising monthly drop

London: Bitcoin slumped on Friday to its lowest this week, taking losses sparked by a growing crackdown in China and environmental concerns to almost 40% so far this month.

The biggest cryptocurrency extended earlier losses, falling as much as 8.2% to $35,339 as it stayed pinned in this week`s relatively tight trading range. It was last down 6.2%.

"Bitcoin is currently in a bit of `slumber mode` trading in the range of $34,000 and $40,000," said Ulrik Lykke, executive director at crypto hedge fund ARK36.

"Many traders are acknowledging that price seems to be range-bound for the moment, why they may be hesitant to take a position with high conviction."

The cryptocurrency has lost 37% in May, which if sustained would be its worst monthly performance since September 2011.

Its drop was triggered by China`s efforts to crack down on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies, and Tesla`s move to halt payments over worries about energy use.
Energy regulators in China`s Sichuan will soon meet local power companies to gather information on cryptocurrency mining, an official said on Thursday, potentially leading to a clampdown in the country`s second-biggest bitcoin production hub.

Still, bitcoin has eked out a gain of around 3% so this week. Crypto markets trade 24/7, with volatility common at weekends.

Smaller coins, which typically rise and fall in tandem with bitcoin, also slumped. Second largest digital token ether fell as much as 11% to a four-day low.