The price of the famously volatile digital currency fell nearly 30% at one point Wednesday after the China Banking Association warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies. The decline narrowed to below 10% that same afternoon, but Bitcoin had still lost about $70 billion in market value in 24 hours.
Bitcoin has lost about 38% of its value since April 13 when it hit a high of more than $64,800, according to Coindesk. The China warning was just the latest headwind: Before Wednesday, Tesla’s decision to not accept the digital currency as payment for cars — after it said it would — and murmurings in Washington about tighter regulation of digital currencies had put pressure on Bitcoin. The price is still up about 31% in 2021 and nearly 300% from a year ago.
Here’s a look at Bitcoin and digital currencies in general:
HOW BITCOIN WORKS
Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows users to spend money anonymously. The coins are created by users who “mine” them by lending computing power to verify other users’ transactions. They receive Bitcoins in exchange.
The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies. Some businesses take Bitcoin as payment, and a number of financial institutions allow it in their clients’ portfolios, but overall mainstream acceptance is still limited.