Cryptocurrencies of all stripes are falling amid a regulatory crackdown in Asia: China appears hellbent on stopping its citizens from trading bitcoin. South Koreans, meanwhile, are begging their government not to tighten its control over cryptocurrency trading. Bitcoin fell more than 10% at some points during trading today, according to CoinDesk, following a 16% plunge yesterday, the biggest decline on a closing basis since September.
The bloodbath has swept up other cryptos: ethereum and ripple have both fallen by 20% or more over the past 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap.com.
But if a Christmas gift that’s lost a quarter of its value since you got it is bumming you out, look on the bright side: You might be able to turn that loss into a tax write-off this year.