Cryptocurrency
prices
have
reversed
early
gains
and
are
broadly
lower
during
U.S.
afternoon
hours
on
Friday
following
a
Wall
Street
Journal
report
that
the
U.S.
is
probing
stablecoin
issuer
Tether
for
violations
of
sanctions
and
anti-money
laundering
rules.
Stablecoins
are
a
type
of
cryptocurrency
whose
value
is
pegged
to
another
asset,
typically
the
U.S.
dollar.
With
a
market
cap
in
excess
of
$120
billion,
tether
(USDT)
is
by
far
the
most
widely
used
stablecoin.
Earlier
in
the
session,
crypto
prices
had
been
on
the
rise,
with
bitcoin
(BTC)
nearing
the
$69,000
level
and
perhaps
readying
for
a
late-day
or
weekend
challenge
of
topping
$70,000
for
the
first
time
in
three
months.
In
the
minutes
following
the
news
on
Tether,
bitcoin
had
tumbled
to
as
low
$66,500,
down
nearly
2%
over
the
past
24
hours,
before
modestly
bouncing
back
to
$66,800.
The
broader
market
gauge
CoinDesk
20
Index
was
lower
by
2.3%
over
the
same
time
frame.