Bitcoin plunges below 8K on technicals, reports of China crackdown

New York (Nov 22)   Bitcoin tumbled below $7,500 level on Thursday after low levels triggered a technical selloff amid reports that China stepped up its crackdown on cryptos.

The cryptocurrency was last trading at $7,635.60, down 6.04% on the day, according to Kitco’s aggregated charts.

“The near-term technical chart posture for Bitcoin has become more bearish recently, amid a strengthening price downtrend in place on the daily chart. That is likely prompting keener selling interest,” Kitco’s senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff wrote on Thursday.

Also, reports of China possibly cracking down on most popular crypto changes might have contributed to the speed of the selloff, Wyckoff added. “[China] has reportedly taken steps to curb crypto trading despite recently saying it may start to use the blockchain technology more,” he said.

Crypto markets were dragged lower after news that Chinese authorities reportedly raided Binance’s Shanghai offices. The report first appeared in The Block, which cited unnamed sources.

The news quickly spread across the crypto world but many questioned the information.

Binance spokekesperson denied reports of a police raid in an email to Kitco News. "Rumors of a police raid are false," the spokesperson said.

“The Binance team is a global movement consisting of people working in a decentralized manner wherever they are in the world. Binance has no fixed offices in Shanghai or China, so it makes no sense that police raided on any offices and shut them down,” the Binance spokesperson said.

On November 20, Binance founder Changpeng tweeted: “Office and HQ are old concepts like SMS and MMS. Time is moving on…”

KitcoNews