Bitcoin Price Steadies at $1000 Despite Plunge in Chinese Trading Volumes
Bitcoin price struck a high of $1012.5 in trading on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI) today as the cryptocurrency swims steadily above the $1,000 level for the first time since last week’s plunge which saw price reach a low of $913.73.
After last week’s fall following the freeze of bitcoin withdrawals in two of China’s biggest bitcoin exchanges in OkCoin and Huobi, bitcoin price has shown gains to breach the $1,000 milestone to settle at the new ceiling. While price has bounced up every day since the drastic drop, activity has shown drops under $1,000. The last time price dipped under the milestone was midday Tuesday (UTC).
At the time of publishing, bitcoin is trading to the dollar at $1,011.49 on the BPI.
With increasing scrutiny from the PBoC, the influential Chinese bitcoin trading market bears little resemblance compared to the thriving activity witnessed at the turn of the year.
Repeated meetings as a part of the ongoing PBoC crackdown that began in early January has led to a number of changes in the regional industry. Enforced changes include introducing trading fees, ending margin trading and a more recently, the dramatic suspension of bitcoin withdrawals in two of the “big three” Chinese exchanges. BTCChina has also prolonged the withdrawal process up to 10 days. A lesser-known exchange operation by bitcoin miner HaoBTC is shutting down entirely in the face of the PBoC’s requirements.
A report in major Chinese news daily Xinhua puts bitcoin under the mainstream’s spotlight and points to the end of margin trading as the primary factor in a significant collapse in trading volumes in China. The plunge in trading among bitcoin exchanges has coincided with record numbers of trading on the peer-to-peer marketplace LocalBitcoins.
The trend shows that trading activity is recovering slowly. Still, it’s impossible to predict what actions the People’s Bank of China might take next. What’s evident is that despite the sudden and dramatic policies enforced by the PBoC, bitcoin is beginning to show resiliency against the thwarting goings-on in China.
Meanwhile, price data gathered and shared on social forums has revealed bitcoin’s 30-day moving average to reach its highest point ever, approaching an average of $1000.
For a real-time Bitcoin Price chart, click here.
For today’s bitcoin price analysis piece from CCN.com analyst Jim Fredrickson, click here.
Image from Shutterstock. Charts from BitcoinWisdom.
