Accordingly, on the morning of May 19, 2021 (Vietnam time), the price of Bitcoin (BTC) – the world’s largest cryptocurrency, suddenly dropped sharply from $43,598 to $38,600, according to data from the world’s largest exchange, Binance. Bitcoin’s price is currently hovering around $39,000, corresponding to a decrease of 12.9% compared to 24 hours earlier, according to information from CoinDesk.
This sharp drop pulled the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market from $2,072 billion down to $1,796 billion, erasing $276 billion in just a few hours. The decline in Bitcoin’s price also dragged down the prices of a series of other cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BNB, Dogecoin…
Notably, this is the third consecutive sharp decline for Bitcoin in just a few days. Previously, Bitcoin’s price had immediately ‘plummeted’ from a peak price of around $59,000. This drop occurred when Tesla announced it would stop accepting payments in Bitcoin due to concerns that the mining process of this cryptocurrency would impact the environment. Following that, speculation that Tesla had sold off the Bitcoin it was holding caused Bitcoin’s price to ‘drop even lower.’
According to many experts, Bitcoin’s latest drop followed a report by Reuters that referenced a statement from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which reaffirmed its stance against the acceptance of cryptocurrency payments. The statement was also broadcast on government CCTV channels and on the official WeChat page of the PBOC.
However, many cryptocurrency experts have criticized Reuters’ article, accusing the news agency of reporting ‘misleadingly.’ According to TheStreet, Reuters’ report could lead the public to misunderstand that the Chinese government had just introduced a new ban on cryptocurrencies. In fact, the PBOC merely reiterated regulations that the country has long applied to warn about the risks when trading and investing in cryptocurrencies.
Yu Lingqu, deputy director at the China Development Research Institute in Shenzhen, noted that the PBOC’s latest statement did not come with any new legal measures regarding cryptocurrencies.
Liu Yang, a lawyer at DeHeng Law Office based in Beijing, asserted that the aforementioned announcement, although published by the PBOC, was actually drafted by industry associations rather than Chinese government officials.
“They just want to be cautious,” commented Bobby Lee, founder and CEO of the e-wallet provider Ballet, regarding the PBOC’s latest move. “They feel the market is overly inflated, with an increasing number of speculative transactions. They are looking for the best interests for everyone.”
Source: Yahoo! Finance