Bitcoin extends losses to drop below $4,000 amid China uncertainty
Bitcoin, the world's biggest digital currency by market cap, briefly fell back below the $4,000-level on Sunday, extending weekend losses on reports saying that China was planning to shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges.
Bitcoin sank to a low of $3,974.10 and last traded at $4,138.60 by 10:15AM ET (1415GMT), down $179.30, or around 4.2%. The digital currency rallied to an all-time high of $4,911.80 at the start of September.
It lost nearly 7% on Friday in response to a report from a Chinese news outlet that said Beijing was planning on shutting down key Bitcoin exchanges in China.
However, officials at three Chinese bitcoin exchanges - Beijing-based OKCoin, Shanghai-based BTC China, and Beijing-based Huobi - said they have not heard anything from the Chinese government thus far.
The latest crackdown on cryptocurrency activity in China comes a few days after the People’s Bank of China sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market, after imposing a ban on individuals and businesses from raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICOs).
Ethereum, Bitcoin's closest rival in terms of market cap, sank 5%, or $14.29, to $288.50. It rose to a record peak of $394.78 on Sept. 2.
Other prominent cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple and Dash also traded sharply lower.
The total value of all publicly traded cryptocurrencies was $140 billion, a figure that was down more than 20% from a high of nearly $180 billion reached a little more than a week ago.
The prices is highly unpredictable good article thanks for sharing
hi thanks for the sharing.
Congratulations @hadiraza! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You made your First Comment
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOP