Bitcoin plummets as China steps up crackdown on crypto miners

Bitcoin is struggling to stay above $32,000 as a bad run for the world’s most popular digital currency continued on Monday after it fell sharply over the weekend.

The cryptocurrency was trading at $32,628 as of 6:44am GMT, marking a decline of more than 8.4%, while other major cryptos were also trading in the red on Monday. Bitcoin has recently been trading around 50% below its record high of nearly $65,000 reached in mid-April.

Ether dropped over 10% to $2,009 per token, dogecoin fell by 9.83% to nearly $0.26. The market value of all cryptocurrencies is currently about $1.4 trillion compared to a high of around $2.6 trillion recorded in May.

The plunge is attributed to a crackdown on mining operations by the Chinese government. Beijing extended the mining ban to the province of Sichuan due to concerns over energy usage. The Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Sichuan Energy Bureau reportedly issued a joint notice demanding the closure of 26 suspected cryptocurrency mining enterprises by June 20.

The step comes two years after Chinese authorities banned financial transactions of bitcoin and other tokens as part of a major state crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

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