Popular cryptocurrencies were under pressure on Wednesday as China continues its crackdown on virtual coin trade.
Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, gained marginally by 0.06 percent at 11:20 am. Dogecoin was also struggling to gain momentum and fell nearly 2 percent. Ether gained over 2.80 percent and was trading at $2,383.58.
Valuations of other popular cryptocurrencies remained mixed as China’s central bank ordered the shutdown of a Beijing-based software maker over its suspected involvement in cryptocurrency trading.
Authorities ordered Beijing Qudao Cultural Development Co Ltd to suspend operations, and its website has been deactivated. The development was confirmed in a statement by the Beijing financial supervision administration and a department of the People’s Bank of China.
The statement said companies in Beijing should not provide venues, commercial displays or advertising for cryptocurrency-related businesses.
In another negative development, major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended Euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s key payments networks. The development was reported by The Financial Times.
Binance said from 8 am universal coordinated time on Wednesday, customers would no longer be able to deposit funds through the Single Euro Payments Area, or Sepa schemes. It added that the move was due to “events beyond control”.
It may be noted that the major cryptocurrency exchange is currently facing scrutiny in a number of countries including the US, Britain and Thailand. The development has made investors nervous, but analysts indicate that it will not have any long-term impact.
While virtual coin prices have been gaining this week, there has been no significant upward movement due to the developments mentioned above. Moreover, the rise in the valuation of the US dollar has also weighed in on cryptocurrencies.
