Bitcoin drops to around $40,000 after achieving highest levels since May

Bitcoin pulled back to around $40,000 after climbing over the weekend to the highest levels since May.

The largest cryptocurrency fell about 4.8% to $39,280 as of 8:42 a.m. in New York after dropping as much as 5.6% Monday. Other virtual coins including second-ranked Ether also fell. Analysts suggested profit-taking lay behind the declines.

This is “just a normal pullback following bullish action,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore.