Bitcoin Loses Over Half its Value in Days on China Crackdown

Bitcoin is making waves again Wednesday, this time, not because of its rapid increase in price but decrease. The value of the virtual currency has plunged by nearly 22% in the last 12 hours related to news in China on how bitcoin exchanges are being dealt with. It is now down 57% from highs of $1242 hit a few short weeks ago - last trading at $539 on Mtgox.

Today's downside comes amid news the China crackdown on bitcoin is getting more aggressive. BTC China, the most active bitcoin exchange, said it will no longer accept deposits in renminbi after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) told payment companies earlier in the week to stop dealing with bitcoin exchanges.

According to CoinDesk, BTC China CEO said, "This morning, we got notice from our third-party payment provider YeePay that it would cut off deposits for us at 12 noon and sure enough, we got cut off today." He added, "We all know the reason – it's as plain as daylight – they cut us off because of what happened at the meeting on Monday."

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