Bitcoin Is Falling. Blame Turkey.

Bitcoin Is Falling. Blame Turkey.

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Bitcoin fell early on Friday, after Turkey's central bank decided to ban the use of cryptocurrencies for payments from the end of the month.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) cited a number of reasons for the ban, including a lack of "supervision mechanisms“ and "central authority regulation“ for crypto assets.

It said that market values can be "excessively volatile,“ adding that digital wallets can be stolen or used unlawfully and that transactions were irrevocable.

The benchmark cryptocurrency slipped 4.8% to $60,341, after reaching all-time highs above $64,000 earlier this week ahead of crypto exchange platform



Coinbase's



 initial public offering. Ether, the world's second-most prominent crypto, also fell 5.2%.

"Payment service providers cannot develop business models in a way that crypto assets are used directly or indirectly in the provision of payment services and electronic money issuance, and cannot provide any services related to such business models,“ according to the new regulation.

The CBRT said it had taken the decision amid a rise in