Bitcoin, the virtual currency that has made plenty of news in the past few months, whether good or bad, was supposed to be unaffected by governments of today, and yet it has not escaped the purview of selected central banks and financial regulators. Those who have invested in the virtual currency are finding out otherwise (and most of the latecomers to their chagrin I suppose), that the price of Bitcoin has dropped dramatically earlier today after China’s largest exchange for the virtual currency claimed that it would no longer accept deposits in their local currency, which is the Chinese yuan.
This bit of news saw Bitcoin shed off more than half of its value since the end-November highs of more than $1,100, where it was traded as low as $422.50 earlier in the day. The exchange had to “temporarily stop its yuan account recharging functions,” and according to Tyler Moore, a Southern Methodist University assistant professor in computer science who has studied Bitcoin, said, “Bitcoin is inherently volatile, but the decision by this large exchange has played a role. Stopping new deposits prevents new Chinese investors from piling more yuan into Bitcoin, eliminating some of the demand.” Does this mean that going for gold is always the best and most secure investment?
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