Cryptocurrencies slide to two-month lows after US midterms

SYDNEY, Nov 9 : Cryptocurrencies fell sharply in late Sunday trade, with bitcoin and ether touching their lowest levels for more than two months, as investors fretted a Democratic Party-controlled US Congress will toughen regulation on the asset class.

Bitcoin, the oldest and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, fell by more than 2 per cent to $73,708, the lowest price since August. Ether fell about 5 per cent to $2,223, also the lowest since August.

Crypto markets have been shaken in recent sessions by a $6 billion heist at Binance, the world's biggest exchange, and the election to office of high-profile critics in last week's US midterms.