Bitcoin price slides as Chinese officials inspect local exchange

Bitcoin fell more than 16 per cent on worries that Chinese authorities are going to tighten their oversight of the digital currency. The price of bitcoin touched a low of $761.86 Wednesday, down more than 16 per cent on the day and was trading at $777.12 at 1.33 pm in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It hit an all-time high of $1,161.89 on January 5. Officials with the Shanghai branch of the People’s Bank of China and the city’s finance office conducted an on-site inspection at the BTCC online bitcoin exchange, according to a statement from the PBOC, looking for evidence of violations, such as market manipulation or money laundering, and assessing the safety of customer funds. BTCC said in a statement it expects to have additional meetings with the regulators this week. The inspection is raising concern that China may tighten its supervision and control over the country’s bitcoin exchanges, which were instrumental in driving up the digital currency in recent weeks. (Olga Kharif/Bloomberg)