After managing to recover part of the losses from Wednesday’s downfall, Bitcoin falls sharply again early Friday afternoon (21) after the State Council of China issued a note on a discussion to crack down on mining and cryptocurrency trading in the country.
At 16:30 (London time), Bitcoin was down 9.8% in the accumulated 24-hour period, quoted at US$ 37,706. The cryptocurrency lost more than US$ 4,000 in value in about half an hour after the news.
In a statement by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and the State Council, officials said stricter regulation is needed to protect the financial system. This was the first time that a high government body discussed the matter.
The statement, released on Friday night in China time, said it was necessary to “crack down on mining and bitcoin trading and prevent the transmission of individual risks to the social field”.
Bitcoin falls a day after American authorities promised to be tough on those who use Bitcoin to carry out “illegal activities, including tax evasion”. The Treasury Department has said it will require reports on crypto trades in excess of US$ 10,000, just as it does with cash.
China, on the other hand, shows a concern with several other issues. “It is necessary to keep the stock, debt and foreign exchange markets going smoothly, to severely repress illegal securities activities and to severely punish illegal financial activities,” the statement said.
Chinese officials said stricter regulation is needed to protect the country’s financial system in the face of the fall of Bitcoin
