Bitcoin Tumbles Below $39,000 After China Issues Warning

Bitcoin tumbled Wednesday from $45,600 to $38,570, its lowest since early February, and well off the record high of $64,870 seen last month.

Bitcoin plunged below $39,000 for the first time in more than three months Wednesday after China said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world's mining. The comments sent the unit diving more than 10 percent and dealt it another blow soon after being battered by comments from tycoon Elon Musk and his Tesla car company. And in a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded". The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves", since Chinese law offers no protection to them.