Bitcoin extends losses to drop below $4,000 amid China uncertainty

Bitcoin, the world's biggest digital currency by market cap, briefly fell back below the $4,000-level on Sunday, extending weekend losses on reports saying that China was planning to shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bitcoin sank to a low of $3,974.10 and last traded at $4,138.60 by 10:15AM ET (1415GMT), down $179.30, or around 4.2%. The digital currency rallied to an all-time high of $4,911.80 at the start of September.

It lost nearly 7% on Friday in response to a report from a Chinese news outlet that said Beijing was planning on shutting down key Bitcoin exchanges in China.

However, officials at three Chinese bitcoin exchanges - Beijing-based OKCoin, Shanghai-based BTC China, and Beijing-based Huobi - said they have not heard anything from the Chinese government thus far.

The latest crackdown on cryptocurrency activity in China comes a few days after the People’s Bank of China sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market, after imposing a ban on individuals and businesses from raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Ethereum, Bitcoin's closest rival in terms of market cap, sank 5%, or $14.29, to $288.50. It rose to a record peak of $394.78 on Sept. 2.
Other prominent cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple and Dash also traded sharply lower.
The total value of all publicly traded cryptocurrencies was $140 billion, a figure that was down more than 20% from a high of nearly $180 billion reached a little more than a week ago.