Breaking: Bitcoin crashes as Chinese Vice-Premier Liu vows to crack down on mining, trading

BTC/USD has dropped $38,000 in response to headlines saying that China's Vice-Premier Liu He said to "resolutely prevent and control financial risks." The senior official added that Beijing will crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading activities. More broadly, Liu added that the government will severely punish those conducting illegal financial activities.

Update: Bitcoin has extended its falls, hitting a low of $36,700 at the time of writing. It is still substantially above Wednesday's capitulation level of $30,000. 

Bitcoin 15-minute chart: 

Earlier this week, authorities in China triggered the massive crash in cryptocurrencies by criticizing digital assets. Prices had already been down and vulnerable after Tesla abandoned Bitcoin as a means of payment. Moreover, the company's boss Elon Musk bashed the granddaddy of cryptocurrencies. He later helped its recovery by saying the firm has not sold its assets. 

Musk has been supportive of Dogecoin. A similar canine-themed token, Shiba Inu, has also been in the spotlight. 

Shiba Inu remains indecisive, trapped between significant barriers