Bitcoin hovers around $40,000 after winning streak snapped

Bitcoin is trading above $40,000 after a day that saw its three-day winning steak snapped.

The cryptocurrency is off more than 2% month-to-date and down 12% year-to-date.

The European Union’s securities, banking and insurance watchdogs issued a warning about cryptocurrencies this week.

Consumers risk losing all their money invested in cryptoassets and could fall prey to scams, the European watchdogs warned in a joint statement Thursday, according to Reuters.

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“Consumers face the very real possibility of losing all their invested money if they buy these assets,” the three EU authorities said in a statement.

EU authorities have ratcheted up direct warnings to consumers about cryptoassets.

Bitcoin illustration (iStock / iStock)

The warning is that consumers have no protections or recourse to compensation under existing EU financial services law.

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Regulators say consumers are not aware of the risks.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while meeting with business leaders and governors in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Consumers should be alert to the risks of misleading advertisements, including via social media and influencers. Consumers should be particularly wary of promised fast or high returns, especially those that look too good to be true,” the statement said.

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Regulators say that consumers should also be aware about the high energy consumption needed for producing some cryptoassets and its environmental impact.