Bitcoin tumbled 20 per cent from record highs notched earlier this month as a new variant of the coronavirus spurred traders to dump risk assets across the globe. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 8.9 per cent to US$53,624 on Friday during London trading hours. Ether, the second-largest digital currency, dropped more than 12 per cent, while the wider Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index declined as much as 7.5 per cent. A new variant identified in southern Africa spurred liquidations across markets, with European stocks falling the most since July and emerging markets also slumping. Bitcoin itself has been ... (full story)