China is causing another cryptocurrency collapse. Losses affect large companies

The central bank of China on Friday pledged to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency trading activities, banning foreign exchanges from providing online services to mainland investors.

The People’s Bank of China, which has ruled all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal, said it would ban financial institutions, payment companies and internet companies from facilitating cryptocurrency trading and tighten oversight of cryptocurrencies. risks arising from these activities.

Cryptocurrency stocks fell after China extended its crackdown on the crypto sector, with Argo Blockchain Plc down 10% in London, while Bitcoin miner Northern Data AG lost 2% in Frankfurt . In pre-market exchanges in the United States, MicroStrategy Inc, the enterprise software company with more than $ 5 billion in crypto assets, lost 3.5%. Shares of Riot Blockchain Inc and Bit Digital Inc are down nearly 5%.

Comments from the People’s Bank of China lowered cryptocurrencies, markets were on the wane as China tightened its grip on sectors ranging from private education to digital games, and the country’s debt crisis. Real estate developer Evergrande added to the tension.

Bitcoin is down 7.8% to $ 41,220, and Ether, EOS, Litecoin, and Dash are all down over 7%.

China has imposed a close scrutiny on the cryptocurrency sector this year, amid growing concerns about the risks of fraud, money laundering and excessive energy consumption. The country is a dominant player in the cryptocurrency market, and as of last April it held 46% of the global hash rate, a measure of the computational power used in mining and processing, according to the index of Cambridge Bitcoin electricity consumption.

The central bank of China has said it will continue to put pressure on the crypto market, and in July the central bank pledged to maintain strong regulatory pressure on cryptocurrency trading and speculation. China’s crackdown was among the triggers for bitcoin’s price drop in May as the largest cryptocurrency struggled to regain its previous highs above $ 60,000.