Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of all things cryptocurrency, including price, regulation, innovation and financial crime.
Bitcoin is down on the day at $7,355, a fall of $62.
Cryptocurrency hedge-funds are struggling to survive with interest fading as the hype-cycle dies, and profits dwindle.
For many of the hedge-funds that popped up at the start of the year, the price of the principle asset has fallen 50 percent to $7,000 making it an increasingly unattractive proposition for both institutional and individual investors.
One such fund, Multicoin, went live in August and manages about $50 million in assets.
Kyle Samani, co-founder of Austin, Texas-based Multicoin Capital, told Bloomberg: "New capital has slowed, even for a higher-profile fund like ours.”
Bloomberg report that nine funds have been closed since the start of the year.
Updates below throughout the day....
Bitcoin has lost $89 on the day so far while now at $7,328.
8.10am - UPDATE - 'Crypto values went too high, too fast'
DeVere Group’s founder and chief executive, Nigel Green, says that a "seismic shift" is taking place with cryptocurrency investments.
He said: "Investor sentiment appears to have considerably changed in the first quarter of 2018.
"Towards the end of last year, crypto values went too high, too fast – and, of course, it was unsustainable. At the time I urged caution, saying an asset that goes almost vertically up should typically raise alarm bells for investors.”
He continues: “Arguably, even before the frenzied peak in December, when the price of one Bitcoin reached an all-time high of more than $19,000, the market was beginning to become frothy and overheated.
“But since then, in this first quarter, there’s been a serious price correction of most major cryptocurrencies.
“It has been this correction that’s been mainly responsible for an evolution in investor attitude.
"I believe that now the overwhelming majority of investors do not view cryptocurrencies as a way to make a fast buck, as perhaps previously many more might have done. Rather, they are now investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash and Litecoin, amongst others, as they can see the core value over a longer time horizon.”
He adds: “It’s our experience that people are nowadays investing in crypto primarily because they understand and value the need and demand for digital currencies in an increasingly digital age."
