Bitcoin claws back ground after after a bout of weekend selling

Cryptocurrencies fought back on Monday, clawing back ground after a bout of weekend selling fuelled by further signs of a gathering Chinese crackdown on the emerging sector.

Bitcoin climbed as high as $37,391 after falling some 7.5% a day earlier, and was last up 5%.

Second-largest cryptocurrency ether jumped more than 10% to as high as $2,321, erasing losses of 8.6% on Sunday that pushed it to near a two-month low around $1,730.

The catalyst for the slump was cryptocurrency “miners”, who mint cryptocurrencies by using powerful computers to solve complex maths puzzles, halting Chinese operations in the face of increasing scrutiny from authorities.