The virtual currency bitcoin has retreated to values from two weeks ago, and some analysts point to the fact that US authorities have managed to recover much of the ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline, in bitcoin, to Dark Side, the group of hackers that attacked the software that manages the company's pipeline, according to "Bloomberg."

Thus, Bitcoin pulls back 12,68% to 31,462.8 points. The broader Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index fell as much as 12%, with altcoins like Ethereum, Litecoin and EOS retreating further.

According to the international press, in order to chase the trail of digital currencies used to pay ransoms to criminals and launder money, task force created by President Joe Biden was successful in finding the destination of the money paid by Colonial Pipeline and recovering much of this amount.

Last year, the virtual currency - which more than tripled last year - is now in a different period of decline, which analysts say could last "a few months."

The bitcoin crash comes after it was announced that El Salvador may become the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal form of payment.