28/08/2017
The price of the digital currency bitcoin pared back early losses on Monday but struggled to make headway in rangebound trade.
On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin touched a low of $4,175.7 and was at $4,319.00 by 08:10 AM ET (12:10 GMT) having opened at $4,330.7.
Since setting an all-time high of $4,489.1 on Aug.17, prices dropped back below the $4,000 level before regaining ground.
The pullback has prompted speculation that bitcoin's rally – which saw the digital asset quadruple in value this year – might be reaching its peak.
At current prices bitcoin has a market cap of about $71 billion. The collective market cap for the crypto asset class is around $156 billion, hovering near all-time highs.
Meanwhile, the price of the new bitcoin offshoot, Bitcoin Cash was lower. It touched a low of $592.00 and was last at $600.10, having opened at $623.00.
It rose to a high of $935.50 on August 19, the strongest level since the split or so-called ‘hard fork’ on August 1 when the blockchain supporting bitcoin split into two, creating bitcoin cash.
At current prices, bitcoin cash has a total market capitalization of around $10 billion, making it the third most valuable cryptocurrency.
Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was up 0.35% to $341.19.
Meanwhile, Litecoin hit a record high of $64.48 and was last at $63.20.
