Bitcoin tumbles to $32,105 as China’s crypto crackdown continues

Bitcoin fell more than 7% to a price of $32,105 Monday morning, tumbling to its lowest level since June 8 as China crackdown rattles the crypto markets. The drop also affected ether, and other alternative crypto coins called altcoins.

According to data from Coindesk, Bitcoin dropped as low as $31,808.08 as of 7:29 AM EST. Its likely Bitcoin may fall below the $30,000 support level if the current trend continues.

What started last week as one of the largest crackdowns on cryptocurrency mining continued until  Sunday after Chinese authorities shutter bitcoin mines in Sichuan, a region of China known for its cheap hydroelectric power, Communist Party-backed newspaper Global Times reported. To date, more than 90% of China’s bitcoin mining capacity is estimated to be shut down, Global Times.

In a separate report, China’s central bank said Monday it had asked Alipay, the payments service run by Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, and some major banks urging them to crack down on crypto trading. China had already banned financial institutions from providing crypto-related services.

Early this month, China arrested over 1,100 people suspected of using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to launder illegal proceeds from telephone and Internet scams in a recent crackdown, according to a report from Reuters, citing the Ministry of Public Security. The arrests came as authorities in China step up their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading.

As we reported last month, China also banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services through cryptocurrency transactions. Three Chinese banking and payment industry bodies banned financial institutions not to conduct virtual currency-related business, including trading or exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency,

The public security ministry said that by Wednesday afternoon police had busted more than 170 criminal groups involved in using cryptocurrencies to launder money. The money launderers charged their criminal clients a commission of 1.5% to 5% to convert illegal proceeds into virtual currencies via crypto exchanges, the ministry said via its official Wechat account.

Meanwhile, cybercriminals raked in over $3.25 billion annually from social media-enabled cybercrime as enterprises infected with crypto-mining malware doubled. Since 2017 there has been a 400 to 600 percent increase in the amount of crypto mining malware being detected globally, the vast majority of which has been found on social media platforms.