BITCOIN PRICE CRASH: CRYPTO MARKET DRAMATICALLY DROPS AMID NEW FEARS OVER CHINA REGULATION

The bitcoin market has plunged sharply amid increased fears over China regulation.

Bitcoin plummeted dramatically over the morning UK time and was matched by other major cryptocurrencies.

Dogecoin suffered the most significant collapse, losing 8.5 percent of its value during the last 24 hours. It marks the latest in a rough week for the meme currency, which has seen its price collapse over 22 percent over the last week.

Ethereum also plummeted sharply, dropping roughly 8 percent over the last 24 hours.

All of the 10 biggest cryptocurrencies – including those that track the dollar – were down substantially over the last 24 hours, according to the tracking website CoinMarketCap.

The latest fall came after China declared that its crackdown on cryptocurrency mining would extend into the region of Sichuan, where crypto ventures are being shut down.

China makes up a major part of the mining infrastructure that underpins bitcoin and other digital currencies, and therefore even the slightest suspicion that regulatory or other constraints are coming to the country can contribute to dramatic swings in its price.

Three state-backed organizations – which include the China Banking Association – released a statement that seemed to indicate that they had turned even more negative on digital currencies, and that further crackdowns could be coming.

It said that cyrptocurrencies are not “real”, and that “should not and cannot be used as currency in the market”.

It also warned that consumers should be prepared to lose their holdings, as well as warning that greater restrictions could be coming in the future.