Traders cited volatility in highly leveraged futures markets as the reason for the slump

A sharp slump in Monday trading arrested bitcoin's recent meteoric rise throughout most of December and into early January, with the cryptocurrency losing as much as 14 percent of its value.

Less than a day after touching a record high of $34,800 traders cited volatility in highly leveraged futures markets as the reason for the slide, according to Reuters.

Bitcoin saw a 14-percent decline after earlier touching as high as $33,670, wiping out more than half its 20 percent bounce from New Year’s Eve to a record $34,800 on Sunday.

Bitcoin was last down 9 percent at $30,077.

Join BJL on WhatsApp Status: Click here to Join BJL status for engagements, births, deals, levayos, events & more

Join BJL on WhatsApp Groups: Click here to Join an official BJL WhatsApp group for breaking news as it happens

A functioning cryptocurrency derivatives market has developed since 2017, with offshore exchanges still offering highly leveraged trading. Moves in such markets can have an outsized effect on bitcoin’s price.

“It’s the unwinding of some of that leverage,” said Richard Galvin of crypto fund Digital Asset Capital Management.

Bitcoin’s record high came less than three weeks after it crossed $20,000 for the first time, on December 16. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency more than quadrupled in price last year. Read more at i24