Bitcoin Stumbles As China Shuts Down Exchanges

Regulators in China say the Bitcoin exchanges are all but banned, and the news caused the crypto currency to drop noticeably.

Reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal on Monday first indicated that China had planned to ban the trading of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies on its exchanges. Now, China’s second-largest digital-currency exchange announced it was shutting down its domestic trading operations. This is the latest development in China’s attempts to impose control within its borders over the stateless currency.

Bobby Lee, CEO of the bitcoin exchange BTCChina, tweeted Thursday that the firm would stop all trading on September 30 following China’s ban on initial coin offerings, the cryptocurrency-based fundraising method.

According to Bloomberg, China Business News reported that the city of Shanghai had ordered the closure of bitcoin trading platforms. The website Crypto Coins News further cited a local newsletter that said banning bitcoin exchanges was “certain.”

Bitcoin has come under pressure in recent weeks following negative headlines out of the UK and China. –Business Insider

Rumors that China will inevitably ban cryptocurrency trading altogether have escalated. A Caixin report out Friday suggested that China would even shut down all of its domestic exchanges. In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority, a UK watchdog, warned investors about the “risk” associated with ICOs.

The cryptocurrency has fallen about 25% since its September 1 high but it’s still up nearly 300% this year leading many to speculate that the Chinese ban and UK rhetoric will have a pretty small effect overall on the currency.