Bitcoin Price Falls Below $30,000 as China Shuts Down Mining Operations

China’s move to shut down cryptocurrency mining operations is having a profound effect on the crypto market. CoinDesk today reported that Bitcoin’s price fell below $30,000 for the first time since January as its value dropped by around 10% in 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies followed suit.

This decline has all but undone the massive gains Bitcoin enjoyed for much of the year. Its per-coin price rose above $44,000 in February when Tesla acquired $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, and it established a new record high price of $64,000 after Coinbase was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange on April 13.

That valuation didn’t last long—the price fell to roughly $47,000 just 10 days later as President Joe Biden considered new capital gains taxes. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is priced at about $29,700 per coin, according to the CoinDesk price index, which means it has lost more than half its value in just two months.

This drop has mostly been attributed to China’s new (or newly enforced) restrictions on cryptocurrencies. Mining operations throughout the country were shut down over the weekend, and on Monday, the People’s Bank of China forbid banks within the country from handling most transactions involving cryptocurrencies.

China was responsible for most of the world’s cryptocurrency mining; losing that production was bound to have an impact on the crypto market. It’s not just Bitcoin—the price of Ethereum has fallen more than 10% in the last 24 hours, too, and lesser-known cryptocurrencies have seen their values drop alongside those leading coins.

The crypto market isn’t the only one affected by these falling prices: Reports indicate that graphics cards prices have fallen as much as 45% in China as a result of the crackdown on cryptocurrency mining operations. Graphics card pricing has fallen in Europe, too, so there might finally be some (real-time ray traced) light at the end of the tunnel for enthusiasts who’ve been hoping to upgrade their systems with one of the best graphics cards. Fingers crossed!