Ethereum continues to decline as market awaits US Congress session

Ethereum fell on Tuesday to continue its losses for a second consecutive day, but the decline remains limited as investors refrain from building new positions, awaiting an important hearing in the US Congress on the crypto industry and blockchain technology.

As of 12:25 GMT, Ethereum is trading around $209.03, down by $2.21 or by 1.1%, with an opening price of $211.24, a high of $211.42 and a low of $204.08.

Yesterday, ethereum lost 0.3%, the second loss in the past three days, driven by low investment demand levels on the world's second largest currency.

Over the past week, prices of ethereum have fallen by 6.3%, the third weekly loss in a row, due to fears that dominated the digital market with increased regulatory scrutiny.

The market value of cryptocurrencies on Tuesday lost about $2 billion to a total of $261 billion, with a limited decline in most major currencies.

This limited decline comes as investors are reluctant to build new positions in anticipation of a hearing session at the US Senate Banking Committee on regulation of crypto industry and the blockchain technology.

The US Congress has recently stepped up its sessions on crypto assets, especially after Facebook announced its digital currency "Libra" which will be officially launched in the first half of next year, and most of the meetings concluded the concerns of legislators about the risks of customer protection and privacy and regulatory compliance.