Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices declined on Tuesday following reports that G-20 leaders reiterated their pledge to regulate crypto-assets after a meeting in Buenos Aires.
Bitcoin lost 4.21% to $3,878 by 12:31 AM ET (05:31 GMT) on the Investing.com index. Ethereum was down 5.3% to $108.12, and XRP dropped 4.0% to $0.34794 on the Poloniex exchange.
Litecoin also slid 7.3% to $30.682 on the Bitifinex exchange.
The sector has been thrashed in recent weeks, with Bitcoin falling to a low of $3,688 last week. The currency is currently trading at 80% less than its value a year ago.
In a declaration titled "Building consensus for fair and sustainable development," the G20 members highlighted cryptocurrencies as one area in need of greater regulation.
"We will regulate crypto-assets for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in line with FATF standards and we will consider other responses as needed," the document stated.
The move is seen as an effort to curb tax evasion by investors and traders of crypto-assets.
In other news, Jay Clayton, the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the United States should not adjust its securities laws to meet the characteristics of new technologies, including cryptocurrency and blockchain.
“Technology ought to be able to fit into our rules. And I think this [blockchain] technology has incredible promise for adding efficiency to our marketplace, but I’m not going to change the investor-protection aspects of those offering rules or those trading rules just because there’s a new technology,” Clayton explained.