Bitcoin extends losses after China clamps down on mining, trading

Bitcoin extended losses on Friday afternoon, falling more than 11% after China doubled down on efforts to prevent speculative and financial risks by cracking down on mining and trading of the largest cryptocurrency. China‘s Financial Stability and Development Committee, chaired by Vice Premier Liu He, singled out bitcoin as the asset it needs to regulate more. The world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency recently traded down 11.59% at $35,928 after holding the $40,000 level for most of the Asian and London sessions. Since hitting an all-time high just under $65,000 in mid-April, bitcoin has fallen about 45%. It’s down about 28% so far this week.