Bitcoin drops below $26,000 after SEC sues crypto exchange Binance

Cryptocurrency prices dropped connected Monday aft the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Binance, the largest crypto speech successful the world, with violating securities laws.

Bitcoin fell astir 5.5% to $25,719.60 to its lowest level since March, according to Coin Metrics. Ether slid 5% to $1,806.68.

The declines came aft the SEC alleged that Binance and its cofounder, Changpeng Zhao, comingled billions of dollars of capitalist funds with their ain and violated securities laws. The ailment follows a akin 1 against Binance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission earlier this year.

The suit is the latest improvement successful this year's crackdown connected the crypto manufacture by U.S. regulators. Since January, the SEC has charged Kraken, Genesis and Gemini Trust with offering unregistered securities to investors and has warned Coinbase of imaginable securities charges.

Bitcoin past week capped its worst period of trading since November, finishing May down 7.9% aft trading successful a constrictive scope of betwixt $26,000 and $28,000. Technical analysts spot $25,200 arsenic the cardinal level to ticker for bitcoin connected the downside.