Bitcoin already having a bad year

Los Angeles - Bitcoin is already having a bad year.

For the first time since 2015, the cryptocurrency began a new year by declining, extending its slide from a record $19 511 reached on December 18.

The virtual coin traded at $13 624.56 as of 17:00 in New York on Monday, down 4.8% from Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s also a fall from the $14 156 it hit on Sunday, according to coinmarketcap.com, which tracks daily prices.

The cryptocurrency fluctuated in early Asian trading on Tuesday.

Bitcoin got off to a much stronger start last year, and then kept that momentum going, helping to create a global frenzy for cryptocurrencies. It rose 3.6% on the first day of 2017 to $998, data from coinmarketcap.com show.

It ended the year up more than 1 300%.

That rally drew a growing number of competitors and last month brought bitcoin to Wall Street in the form of futures contracts. It reached the December 18 peak hours after CME Group debuted its derivatives agreements, which some traders said would encourage short position-taking.