Bitcoin slid to the lowest since mid-December as the speculative demand for the token sparked by hype about new exchange-traded funds dissipates, leaving the cryptocurrency in the red since the start of 2024. The largest digital asset briefly flirted with a drop below $40,000 before trading at $41,160 as of 6:30 a.m. Friday in Singapore, a decline of 3% in the past 24 hours. Smaller tokens like Ether, Solana and Polkadot also struggled. Bitcoin surged 157% last year on optimism about the eventual Jan. 11 launch of the first US exchange-traded funds to directly hold the token. Digital assets also got a tailwind from ... (full story)