Bitcoin drops below $30,000 as relentless China crackdown weighs

NEW YORK/LONDON/HONG KONG: Bitcoin on Tuesday fell below $30,000 for the first time since January, briefly erasing gains for the year and adding to losses sparked a day earlier when China’s central bank deepened a crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to $28,600, its lowest since early January, after giving up gains made during Asian hours. Its fall also pressured smaller coins such as ether .

Bitcoin tumbled 11% on Monday, its largest one-day drop in over a month, with losses of nearly 30% in the last week alone almost wiping out gains for the year-to-date. It was last down 2.3% at $30,896.

The sell-off was sparked by the People’s Bank of China urging China’s largest banks and payment firms to crack down harder on cryptocurrency trading, the latest tightening of restrictions on the sector by Beijing.