Investing.com – Bitcoin fell to its lowest since November as investors continued to flee the cryptomarket as major banks stepped up efforts to curb cryptocurrency activity by restricting the use of credit to purchase cryptocurrencies.

Major banks across the US and UK halted cryptocurrency purchases on credit, striking a better blow to crypto-investors who use credit cards to fund their cryptocurrency investment, which usually involves exchanging some form of fiat currency – currency that a government has declared to be legal tender – for a funding digital currency like Bitcoin or Ethereum.

With regulatory efforts well underway in Asia, the region which makes up the bulk of bitcoin trading volume, investors appear reluctant to return, starving the market of new inflows at a time when it is needed most as data showed a significant drop in total cryptocurrency market cap.

The total cryptocurrency market cap at $348 billion, at the time of writing, is below $478 billion – the level last seen following the so-called crypto “bloodbath” on Jan. 16.

While that may be above the total marketcap of roughly $170 billion seen during the first major regulatory crackdown in September last year, cryptocurrencies continued to spiral as the reluctance of ‘new money’ or investors willing to return and prop up demand, leads to huge directional moves - mostly lower - in the market.

Bitcoin fell roughly 11.92% to $7,151.1, while Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, fell 10.64% to $724.03.

Ripple XRP, meanwhile, fell 12.50% to $0.7.

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