The Shenzhen branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is taking a hardline approach to cryptocurrency-related activities deemed illegal. According to a report from state-run Shanghai Securities News on Tuesday, the branch has recently “cleaned up and rectified” 11 new companies suspected of engaging in illicit crypto trading. The report did not disclose the companies’ names nor the details of how they were sanctioned. The action against crypto firms was carried out alongside a slew of wide-ranging measures against illicit cross-border trading of foreign currencies and stocks, with one target reportedly being “a well-known domestic financial website that is …

The double-digit rallies seen from many altcoins show that traders are becoming increasingly bullish with the passing of each day, but maintaining this momentum will to some extent depend on Bitcoin’s (BTC) short-term price action. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after touching the $48,000 price level during the early morning trading hours on Monday, the price of BTC dipped below $45,800 as bulls scrambled to put a halt to the price slide. Here’s what analysts are saying could be the next steps for Bitcoin’s price. Bitcoin needed to retest support after a 50% rally Bitcoin’s surge …

The mining difficulty of the Bitcoin network took a dive after China had announced a crackdown on mining operations, which at its peak contributed to three-quarters of the global hash rate. The latest data from BTC.com shows an ongoing spike in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty starting from June 17, 2021. As miners from China slowly settle down in crypto-friendly countries, the Bitcoin ecosystem witnessed a 13.77% increase in mining difficulty in two consecutive jumps, exceeding 15 terahashes (TH) for the first time since the second week of June. The next adjustment is expected to commence on Aug. 27, estimated to surge …

Stepping up efforts to minimize the inherent risks of trading cryptocurrency, major crypto exchange Binance has announced it would restrict access to derivatives products to Hong Kong users. The official announcement reads: “Users from Hong Kong will have a 90 days’ grace period to close their open positions. During the grace period, no new positions may be opened.” However, Binance’s proactive means to restrict Hong Kong users was not supported by a date of when the restrictions will be imposed. To provide clarity behind Binance’s latest restrictions, CEO Changpeng Zhao said the move is aimed to be a “proactive measure” …

Following Beijing’s crackdown on energy-sapping Bitcoin (BTC) mining, Guizhou province has become the country’s first to make use of its freed-up power capacity to advance a climate-conscious agenda. The hydroelectric-rich southern province has recently announced a plan to build at least 4,500 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 2021. This will ramp up to 5,000 in 2022 and 5,500 the following year. As the South China Morning Post reported, Beijing’s pressure on Bitcoin miners has freed up over 50 terawatt-hours of electricity — enough to sustain an industrialized city with a population of 1 million for 33 years or to …

Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has denied the company's involvement in a move by a Portuguese Xiaomi shop to start accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments. Mi Store Portugal, a Xiaomi retailer in the country, announced Wednesday on Facebook that it now allows customers to purchase devices using five cryptocurrencies, including BTC, Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Dash (DASH) and the Utrust (UTK) token. A spokesperson for Xiaomi subsequently reacted to the news on Chinese social media platform Weibo, stressing that the Mi Store Portugal is not directly related to Xiaomi’s operations. “We are concerned about the information that Mi Store Portugal accepts digital …

A new report from Chainalysis has found that while China’s share of global criminal crypto flows has been falling since the third quarter of 2019, the country still represents a disproportionate amount of money laundering and scam activity. In its Aug. 3 “Cryptocurrency and China” report, Chainalysis stated that more than $2.2 billion worth of crypto had been sent from Chinese wallets to addresses associated with illicit activity between April 2019 and June 2021. Chinese addresses also received more than $2 billion worth of digital assets tied to nefarious activity such as scams and darknet marketplaces. Despite this, the report …

A combination of multiple indicators tracking Bitcoin (BTC) on the blockchain could continue the benchmark cryptocurrency’s price rally further into 2021, popular on-chain analyst Willy Woo anticipates. In his recent newsletter, the market researcher wrote that he expects Bitcoin prices to reach the $50,000–$65,000 range in the coming sessions. His comments appeared as BTC/USD reclaimed its three-month high above $42,600 only days after crashing below $30,000, the pair’s psychological support level. “My expectation is similar to BTC at $20k all-time-high in January, where the price is pinned close to the $40k-$42k ceiling over a period of days (2 weeks maximum) …

In the last few weeks, the Bitcoin (BTC) mining market has experienced a black swan event, leading to a lot of uncertainty and confusion surrounding the future of the market. This is why I felt it was right to give the public a quick update and explain why it's a fantastic time for Bitcoin mining in the United States. Bitcoin miners are rewarded Bitcoin for securing the network and for each block they mine. As more miners participate, the difficulty rate increases and the reward for each individual miner’s security contribution decreases. And vice versa, when fewer miners are participating, …

At the same time that China has declared war on cryptocurrencies, giant American banks appear to be embracing crypto — evident the final week of July with the news that crypto firm Lukka will provide State Street Bank’s private fund’s clients with digital and crypto asset fund administration services. This follows forays into the crypto space from the likes of BNY Mellon, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among traditional bank heavyweights. Is it too early to speak of trend and counter-trend? And if a trade war has broken out between the United States and China, as many believe, why is …

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, has called for greater cooperation between western governments and crypto businesses to better leverage the benefits of the ongoing cryptocurrency revolution. In an article published in the Financial Times on Thursday, the famous economist highlighted China’s unified approach to dealing with crypto and blockchain as against the fragmented handling of the novel tech in the United States and Europe. As part of the article, El-Erian called on western governments to adopt a less dismissive stance on crypto and be more open to embracing the innovations coming out of the cryptocurrency space especially in …

China’s stringent crypto regulations meant closing shop for many Chinese businesses within the Bitcoin (BTC) mining ecosystem. The sudden disappearance of Bitcoin miners from the grid has resulted in falling hash rates. The hashing performance, the cumulative computing power of the Bitcoin network, dropped from an all-time high of 180 exahashes per second (EH/s) to 84 EH/s in just 21 days. While the hash rate drop was directly attributable to the drop in the number of Chinese miners, Blockchain.com Explorer data suggests there has been a steady increase in mining difficulty since June 3. Since the drop, the hash rate …