Bitcoin plunges 23% as China’s yuan soars

Well, the high didn’t last long.

Bitcoin’s dramatic rally came to an abrupt end on Thursday, when it fell by as much as 23 percent—the steepest drop since 2014. The popular digital currency’s price reached $1,140.64 on Wednesday, only to drop to a low $885.41. The swift crash has also caused bitcoin to lose more than $3 billion in market value at one point, slashing its “market capitalization”—the value of all the bitcoin in circulation—to $14.6 billion from $17.7 billion, or a drop of about 17.5%.

So what caused Thursday’s spectacular crash? The short answer is China.

Bitcoin, which has just turned eight years old, has been gently appreciating since 2016, thanks to demand from traders in China as well as other parts of the world where traditional currencies are tightly controlled. China, where majority of trading occurs, saw an increase in demand for bitcoin as the pressure on the Chinese yuan weakens.