Bitcoin Price Slips Below $3,000 on Chinese Exchanges

Regulatory uncertainty shook the crypto markets on Thursday, as traders grappled with increasingly-credible rumors that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) will suspend trading at Chinese bitcoin exchanges. Weighed down by this tumultuous climate, the bitcoin price has fallen below $3,000 at Chinese markets.

The plunge has been both brisk and precipitous. In the past 12 hours alone, bitcoin has fallen by nearly 5,000 CNY on OKCoin–the equivalent of $738. Bitcoin is now trading at about 19,550 CNY ($2,979) at this exchange, whose $126 million BTC/CNY volume is the largest in the country.

BTC Price Chart from OKCoin

But OKCoin is not an outlier. Every other major Chinese exchange prices bitcoin below the $3,000 mark as well. Huobi–which accounts for nearly $109 million in daily volume–has bitcoin trading at $2,983. On BTCC, which announced earlier today it will suspend trading on September 30, the bitcoin price is just $2,974. CHBTC values bitcoin at $2,973, while the lower-volume BtcTrade and ViaBTC price it at $2,990. Altogether, these six exchanges currently account for 13% of total bitcoin trading volume.

Bitcoin Is Trading Below $3,000 on All the Major Chinese Bitcoin Exchanges | Chart from CoinMarketCap

The overall bitcoin price has been weighed down by BTC/CNY, but it is still holding above $3,000–at least at the time of writing. Presently, bitcoin is valued at a global average of $3,252, which represents a daily decline of 17% and a weekly decline of 30%. The cryptocurrency market cap, which tracks the total value of all cryptocurrencies, now sits at just $112 billion after rising as high as $180 billion less than two weeks ago.

Industry observers disagree about where and when the market downturn will stall. Some, including trader WhalePanda and economist Tuur Demeester, believe a rebound is likely in the near future. Others, including Civic CEO Vinny Lingham and BitPay co-founder Tony Gallippi, predict that the bitcoin price could fall closer to the $2,500 to $2,750 range before the market turns a corner.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Last modified: March 4, 2021 4:59 PM

Josiah Wilmoth

Josiah is the former U.S. Editor at CCN.com, where he focused on financial markets. He lives in rural Virginia. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email him directly at josiah.wilmoth(at)ccn.com.