Bitcoin is in a free fall – tumbling to a two-week low amid an intensifying cryptocurrency crackdown in China.
China’s crackdown on mining has been an ongoing story since around 2013. But this time might be different.
Bitcoin fell to a two-week low amid an intensifying cryptocurrency crackdown in China.
The largest virtual currency fell 10% to $32,350 as of 8:50 a.m. in New York. Ether declined 13% to $1,950.
China announced on Monday that it summoned officials from its biggest banks to a meeting to reiterate a ban on providing cryptocurrency services. It’s the latest sign that China plan to do whatever it takes to close any loopholes left in crypto trading.
According to bitcoin aficionado Stephan Livera this latest crackdown, on one of the main regions for bitcoin mining, is the real deal.
This time seems like a more serious time. The largest mining pool operators have come out…so for example the leader of F2Pool (has said) from our numbers we’re seeing a very large drop in the amount of hash rate that’s coming to our pool out of China.”
STEPHAN LIVERA, MINISTRY OF NODES
Bitcoin has many complex layers, it’s important to remember we’re talking specifically about bitcoin mining.
Mining is simply the process that sees new bitcoins entered into circulation. It’s also a critical component of the maintenance and development of the blockchain ledger. Mining is performed using very sophisticated computers that solve extremely complex computational math problems.
#BITCOIN With China cracking down on Bitcoin Mining, what does this mean for the Hash Rate?
Chinese authorities are clamping down on the local mining operations that accounted for over 65% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate in 2020.
You might want to Google ‘bitcoin hash rate’, essentially it’s how often computers verify bitcoin transactions to secure the network.
The total hash rate has hit a new six-month low as China continues its clampdown on operations within the country.
What does this change mean for the future of bitcoin mining?
Livera says “it might be a turning point, an actual change in the industry. In terms of the composition in terms of where does the mining hash-rate come from. Because bitcoin is a decentralised project, what we ideally want to see is the hash-rate distributed around the world.”
So where to next?
Miners in China say their firms will pack up shop and move to North America with some predicting that China will lose crypto computing power to foreign markets.
Livera predicts short-term pain for long-term gain.
“Yes there is a short-term drop in the hash rate in the here and now. It’s unfortunately bad for Chinese miners. But it is good for anybody outside of China who is able to set up a mining operation, and be more profitable on the margin.”
A sell-off across the crypto markets took hold over the weekend. The world’s two dominant tokens bitcoin and ethereum both declined following China’s continuing crackdown particularly on the southwest province of Sichuan.
How these changes in bitcoin mining affect the long term price is a wait and see.
Dow gains over 650 points in relief bounce but still faces worst weekly loss since 2023 amid ongoing tariff uncertainties.
In Short
Stocks rebounded on Friday, with the Dow gaining 674.62 points, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq experiencing their best day of 2025. Despite this, all major indices faced weekly losses due to ongoing trade policy concerns and declining consumer confidence.
Stocks rallied on Friday, reversing some losses from earlier in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 674.62 points, or 1.65%, closing at 41,488.19.
The S&P 500 climbed 2.13% to finish at 5,638.94, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.61% to settle at 17,754.09. This marked the best day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in 2025.
Big tech companies rebounded sharply, with Nvidia up over 5%, Tesla rising nearly 4%, and Meta Platforms gaining close to 3%.
Amazon and Apple also saw increases.
The market bounce was attributed to a lack of new tariff-related news from the White House, alleviating some investor concerns.
Following a drop on Thursday, the S&P 500 entered correction territory, having fallen more than 10% from its recent peak.
The Nasdaq slid deeper into correction, while the small-cap Russell 2000 neared a bear market. Uncertainty stemming from President Trump’s trade policies has contributed to heightened market volatility.
Despite Friday’s gains, the three major indices experienced weekly losses, with the Dow down about 3.1%—the worst week since March 2023. S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell over 2% for their fourth straight weekly decline.
Consumer confidence also declined amid ongoing tariff concerns, with sentiment dropping to 57.9 in March.
Investors await an upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting, where a majority expect interest rates to remain unchanged.
S&P 500 enters correction as stocks plummet amid Trump’s tariff threats, marking a challenging week for Wall Street.
In Short
Stocks plunged on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 1.39% and entering correction territory, while the Dow and Nasdaq also fell significantly. Market uncertainty continues due to President Trump’s tariff threats, leading to losses predicted for the week across major indices.
Stocks fell sharply on Thursday as the S&P 500 entered correction territory, dropping 1.39% to close at 5,521.52.
The decline marked a significant downturn where the index sits 10.1% below its record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also suffered, losing 537.36 points or 1.3%, closing at 40,813.57, marking its fourth consecutive day of losses. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.96%, with major players like Tesla and Apple being negatively affected.
Tariff threat
The market’s downward trend has been exacerbated by recent tariff threats from President Trump. He proposed 200% tariffs on EU alcoholic products in response to a 50% EU tariff on whisky, indicating a firm stance on expanding trade restrictions.
Investor confidence has been shaken by his unpredictable trade policies, contributing to a week where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are projected to post losses of 4.3% and 4.9%, respectively. The Dow is on track for a 4.7% decline, potentially experiencing its worst week since June 2022.
Small-cap stocks are also suffering, with the Russell 2000 nearing bear market conditions, down approximately 19% from its peak. Portfolio managers express concern that ongoing tariff disputes continue to foster market uncertainty.
Despite some positive signs in inflation data, analysts doubt a significant market rebound is likely, as worries about Trump’s trade approach remain a critical concern for investors.
57% of Americans view Trump’s economic actions as erratic, with concerns over tariffs raising prices, a poll reveals.
In Short
A recent poll shows 57% of Americans believe Trump’s economic actions are erratic, with 70% fearing rising tariffs will increase prices. Despite this, many Republicans still support his economic policies, believing they will benefit the economy in the long run.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals that 57% of Americans view President Donald Trump’s actions regarding the economy as too erratic.
This sentiment follows his aggressive import taxation strategies, which have unsettled the stock market.
Approximately one third of respondents expressed that Trump’s actions are not overly erratic, while 11% were unsure or did not provide an answer.
Interestingly, about one in three Republicans also consider Trump’s actions erratic.
Despite this, 79% of Republicans in the poll agree with the notion that Trump’s economic strategies will be beneficial in the long term, indicating that while some may not resonate with his approach, they support the underlying policies.
Trump’s policies
Overall, 41% of all respondents, and only 5% of Democrats, believe Trump’s economic policies will yield positive results eventually.
Furthermore, 70% of survey participants anticipate that increasing tariffs will lead to higher prices for everyday items, including groceries.
Additionally, 61% of respondents stated that managing rising prices should be Trump’s primary focus.
The poll included 1,422 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
This latest data offers insights into public sentiment surrounding Trump’s economic management, highlighting concerns over his erratic approach alongside a degree of support for his policies.