Bitcoin crashes below key US$30k support level, erasing all 2021 gains

Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest value since the start of 2021 as fears over tightening regulation in China sparked a selloff in crypto markets. In late afternoon trading in London on Tuesday, Bitcoin had fallen 11.6% in the last 24 hours to US$29,136, the first time it has fallen below US$30,000 since January and its lowest price since December 2020, effectively wiping out all of its gains since the start of the year. US$30,000 is considered a key support level for Bitcoin by technical analysts, with the next support level predicted to be around US$20,000. Bitcoin’s slump has also dragged down other prominent cryptos in the market, with Ethereum sinking 10.7% to US$1,748 while meme-inspired crypto Dogecoin plunged 23.1% to US$0.17. The selloff appears to have been triggered by an announcement from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Monday that all financial institutions in the country should stop facilitating transactions in digital currency. The move also followed efforts by provincial authorities to clamp down on Bitcoin mining, with officials in Sichuan province, one of the biggest hydro-based crypto mining hubs in China, becoming the latest provincial authority to ban the practice last Friday.