Bitcoin drops toward $60,000 as major cryptocurrencies plunge

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Tuesday retreating from near-record highs.

The world’s largest digital coin fell toward $60,000 during late morning trade Singapore time. It recovered some of those loses and was trading at around $60,542 at 9:26 a.m. London time (4:26 a.m. ET), according to Coin Metrics data, down 5% from 24 hours before.

Ether, meanwhile, fell 6% to $4,229.

The impetus behind the price movement was not clear.

China’s state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said during a press conference Tuesday that it will continue to clean up virtual currency mining in the country.

Earlier this year, China cracked down on bitcoin mining leading to an exodus of miners. Mining is the energy-intensive process which both creates new coins and maintains a log of all transactions of existing digital tokens. 

Beijing is concerned about the amount of energy being used by mining.

Mining “causes large energy consumption and carbon emission. It has no active impact to lead industry development or scientific progress,” NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei said on Tuesday, according to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin comments.

“Regulating cryptocurrency mining activities has significant meaning in optimizing our industrial structure, saving energy and cutting emission, achieving carbon emission and neutrality goals.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year that China aims to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2060.

The NDRC said it will focus on state-owned companies involved in cryptocurrency mining. It also said it is considering imposing “punitive electricity prices” against those participating in cryptocurrency mining activities but paying a residential electricity price.

China’s authorities have been focusing on wiping out bitcoin mining since earlier this year.