Bitcoin was down by 9.6%, or $102, at $959 a coin as of 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday after at least two of China's biggest bitcoin exchanges announced they were blocking customers from withdrawing their bitcoins. The announcements followed Wednesday's meeting between the People's Bank of China and the bitcoin exchanges. Thursday's announcements are notable because nearly 100% of all bitcoin transactions take place on Chinese exchanges. The cryptocurrency has had a wild start to 2017 after gaining 120% in 2016, when it became the top-performing currency for a second straight year. Bitcoin gained more than 20% in the ... (full story)