China’s Clampdown Continues | Bitcoin Tumbles And Recovers

ALL NOT SO QUIET ON THE EASTERN FRONT

Chinese authorities keep issuing red cards to businesses involved in crypto. On Monday, China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), ordered the country’s main financial institutions, including Ant Group’s Alipay, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Construction Bank among others, to block payment services for any client accounts thought to be conducting cryptocurrency transactions  and cease offering cryptocurrency-related services involving account opening, registration and trading.

This latest announcement comes on the back of officials demanding the closure of bitcoin mines in the key province of Sichuan and expanding the list of unwanted regional mining centers, which already includes Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan. Local mining companies are hastily relocating their operations to other countries . Shenzhen-based BIT Mining has already delivered 320 mining machines to neighboring Kazakhstan and expects to send another 2,600 before July 1. A Guangzhou-based logistics firm Fenghua International was reportedly airlifting 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lbs.) of bitcoin mining equipment to Maryland on Monday.

BITCOIN TAKES A DIP BELOW $30,000 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE JANUARY

The fresh wave of clampdown brought the prices of bitcoin and ether down 10% and 15%, respectively while cardano, polkadot and dogecoin also suffered losses. On Tuesday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency plunged below $30,000, hitting as low as $28,854—levels not seen since January 28. However, the market quickly rebounded, with bitcoin reaching $33,300 in the afternoon. As of Friday morning, it is trading in the $33,000-$35,000 range, ether is still below $2,000.

Amid the panic, unwavering bitcoin holder MicroStrategy announced on Monday it had bought another 13,005 bitcoins for approximately $489 million in cash raised last week.

NEW VENTURE CAPITAL ON THE WAY?

Perhaps counterintuitively to the general market sentiment, new capital is overflowing between crypto startups and venture investors. Among the largest deals of the week is Andreessen Horowitz’s new $2.2 billion fund earmarked for cryptocurrency-related investments. The initiative is the third of its kind for the Silicon Valley venture giant, one of the earliest investors in Coinbase and the first to launch a dedicated crypto unit. The fund will allow A16z Investments to continue participating in the later stage rounds of prominent crypto firms, which are becoming increasingly expensive.

One example is blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, which has secured a $4.2 billion valuation this week after completing its third $100 million funding round in the past seven months, bringing its total capital raised to $365 million. The latest fundraising represents a 320% gain in Chainalysis’ value in under 12 months—a testament to the ongoing tech and crypto fundraising bubble that has persisted despite the recent pullback in crypto prices.

FINTECH 50 SPOTLIGHT

Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis pioneer with 200-plus employees, helps governments and businesses in 50 countries analyze blockchain data to investigate illicit transactions and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations.

ELSEWHERE

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Robinhood’s IPO Plans Slowed By SEC Review [Bloomberg]

John McAfee, Software Pioneer Turned Fugitive, Dead At 75 [AP]

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