RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency in trading internationally, traded lower on Thursday, falling by 1.46  percent to $48,332 at 1:43 p.m Riyadh time.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, traded at $3,930, down by 2.21 percent, according to data from Coindesk.

Some experts believe that Bitcoin could drop sharply in the coming months.

The cryptocurrency surged to a record high of nearly $69,000 in November and is now below $50,000, down nearly 30 percent from its peak.

Carol Alexander, professor of finance at Sussex University expects the price of Bitcoin to drop to $10,000 in 2022, effectively erasing all of its gains in the past year and a half, according to CNBC.

“If I were an investor now I would think about coming out of bitcoin soon because its price will probably crash next year,” Alexander said.

Her bearish claim hinges on the idea that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, and is more of a toy than an investment.

 “Without question, Bitcoin’s price chart appears to track many historical asset bubbles and busts and is carrying a ‘this time it’s different’ narrative just like other bubbles,” said Todd Lowenstein, chief equity strategist of Union Bank’s private banking arm.

Other news:

Prosecutors in the German state of Hesse have used a local bank to clean up nearly 100 million euros ($113 million) in cryptocurrencies in a criminal case against three drug dealers, Bloomberg reported.

The anti-cybercrime unit of the Frankfurt General Prosecutor turned to Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG, a specialist in digital assets, to return the cryptocurrency to regular circulation, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.

They will cooperate in future criminal cases to return the confiscated cryptocurrencies to the markets.

Earlier this month, 100 million worth of digital currency was sold within a week, Bankhaus Scheich said.

“As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges,” the Frankfurt-based lender said.

The process now established “ensures that trading partners are informed that the currencies are back in legal possession and have been declared ‘clean,’ allowing them to be sold.”

The proceeds from the sale of cryptocurrencies will now be transferred to the government.

El Salvador

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced on Tuesday that his country has bought more Bitcoin.

“Today is the last 21st day of the year 2021 of the 21st century. At 21:00 hours … We are buying 21 Bitcoin for the occasion. I’m holding the purchase till 21:21:21,” he tweeted.

He also posted a picture of a list of Bitcoin buying transactions that added up to about 21 Bitcoins. “Got a receipt,” he wrote.

El Salvador, which has adopted Bitcoin as a legal currency alongside the US dollar, has bought about 1,391 Bitcoin in total, according to Bitcoin.com.