Bitcoin slides sharply after touching $58,354

The most popular cryptocurrency surged over the weekend to record levels, almost doubling year-to-date. It hit a market capitalisation of $1 trillion on Friday.

On Monday, prices dropped as much as 6.6 percent falling back to around $55,000. Rival cryptocurrency ether also fell 7 percent to $1,798.

Bitcoin’s gains have been fuelled by signs it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, from Tesla and Mastercard to BNY Mellon.

Traders said the move was largely technical, and not tied to any particular news catalyst.

Tesla boss Elon Musk, whose tweets on bitcoin have added fuel to the cryptocurrency’s rally, said on Saturday the price of bitcoin and ethereum seemed high.

In February alone, Bitcoin is up more than 60 percent, prompting commentary that the run-up is excessive. The digital token hit a new all-time high on and came close to surpassing $59,000.