The price of Bitcoin fell solidly Saturday, while small digital coins such as Solana, Cardano and Dogecoin sold off in the wake of the SEC regulatory crackdown vs. cryptocurrency exchanges.
Bitcoin tumbled to $25,501 early Saturday, back toward their worst levels since March set earlier in the week. The Bitcoin price is currently down 3.2% vs. 24 hours earlier to about $25,613. Smaller tokens plunged to 2003 lows or worse on Saturday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed 13 charges vs. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and co-founder Changpeng Zhao, for alleged securities violations and operating illegally in the U.S. On Tuesday, the SEC targeted U.S. cryptocurrency giant Coinbase, claiming it operated as an unregistered securities exchange.
The SEC also has named a number of tokens as unregistered securities, including Cardano and Solana. Robinhood Markets Friday said it would delist Cardano, Solana and Polygon as a result.
The news sent cryptocurrencies and COIN stock tumbling early in the week. Cathie Wood's Ark Invest snapped up another $21 million worth of Coinbase stock on Tuesday. Shares rebounded somewhat, but COIN stock still dived 17.5% for the week.
Saturday's tumble could reflect general concern about the SEC regulatory crackdown, as well as fears that liquidity will dry up, especially for smaller digital coins.
Ethereum, the second-most popular cryptocurrency, sank 5.7% on Saturday to $1,735.
Cardano plummeted 17% to 25.43 cents, hitting a 52-week low of 22.95 cents overnight.
Dogecoin, long touted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, skidded 12% to 6.06 cents, getting as low as 5.42 cents overnight.
