Tokyo/Singapore — Bitcoin extended its sharp tumble of the past 24 hours, skidding more than 7% on Wednesday in a rapid downturn in fortunes. Investors were spooked by fear that regulators might clamp down on an asset whose value has skyrocketed in the past year. The price of the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency fell to as low as $10,567 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, not far from its six-week nadir of $10,162 touched the previous day. The session’s high was $11,794.07. It led the fall in cryptocurrencies, although others such as Ethereum and Ripple have also slid sharply this week after reports South Korea and China could ban trading, sparking fear of a wider regulatory crackdown. "Cryptocurrencies could be capped in the current quarter ahead of G20 meeting in March, where policy makers could discuss tighter regulations," said Shuhei Fujise, chief analyst at Alt Design. At its lows on Tuesday, Bitcoin had fallen 25% in the session, its biggest daily decline...
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