The digital currency’s price had fallen to as little as $3,434.78 at the time of report, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
This represented a more than 30% decline from the all-time high of more than $5,000, and the lowest price since August 11, additional BPI figures show.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Chinese Regulatory Developments
Bitcoin has been encountering some weakness lately, suffering notable declines as the Chinese government has cracked down on cryptocurrencies.
The nation’s government banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) earlier this month, and rumors have circulated that the next step may be shutting down all cryptocurrency exchanges.
This will not be the first time the Asian nation has taken such action, as it shut down these marketplaces both in 2013 and also earlier this year, as reported by TechCrunch.
BTCC Shuts Down
Earlier today, major Chinese exchange BTCC announced in a tweet that it will halt all trading as of September 30.
“After carefully considering the announcement published by Chinese regulators on 09/04, BTCChina Exchange will stop all trading on 09/30,” the tweet stated.
However, the exchange stated in a separate tweet that its “products,” including BTCC Pool, will still be available.
Chinese Exchanges Prepare
BTCC suspended its trading operations as China’s other exchanges prepared to take the same action, TechCrunch reported.
Chinese government officials have met with several exchanges in order to ensure that they stop offering trading in the Asian nation, according to two sources who are familiar with the matter and spoke with the media outlet.
Crypto Market Reaction
The cryptocurrency market has been reacting strongly in the last few days, its total value falling to as little as $117.1 billion, CoinMarketCap figures reveal.
This figure represents a nearly 35% drop from the all-time high of $179.8 billion, additional CoinMarketCap figures show.
While it is easy to attribute this sharp decline to recent events in china, market observer Brad Chun asserted that profit taking is also playing a role.
Some traders are simply taking risk off the table after enjoying very strong gains, said Chun, chief investment officer of Shuttle Fund Advisor.
Some Traders Unphased
Further, some traders are unphased by the news, said Iqbal Gandham, UK Managing Director of social trading platform eToro.
“News coming out of China will ‘shake the tree’ but most are still holding,” he said.
Chun emphasized that the cryptocurrency market has developed a more global footprint over time, and as a result, the narrative is only “partially controlled” by the country these days.
He also asserted that for long-term traders, the recent drop in Bitcoin prices provides a great buying opportunity.
Disclosure: I own some Bitcoin and Ether.
Charles Bovaird - Report Forbes Now
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