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Why China’s central bank fears bitcoin
It was only one week ago that the price of the digital currency bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $1,130. Now the price has fallen precipitously, and was hovering around $800 on Thursday afternoon. The reason is China. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said on Wednesday that it plans regular on-site inspections of the leading Chinese bitcoin exchanges, including BTCChina, Huobi, and OKCoin. This came after PBOC officers in Beijing visited the offices of Huobi and OKCoin, and PBOC officers in Shanghai visited the offices of BTCC, for checkups that, “focused on whether the firm was operating out of its business ... (full story)