Bitcoin price rebounds slightly after China bars raising money from ICOs

Digital currencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum,  rebounded slightly today following an intraday tumble of over 10 percent in the afternoon, after China announced it would block ICO (initial coin offering) trading yesterday.

Bitcoin price stood at around 26,000 yuan (US$3,823) at 5pm, unchanged from the previous day. The price rebounded after the tumble in the afternoon to 22,000 yuan, almost a 32-percent drop from the recent peak of 32,000 yuan on Saturday. Another major digital currency ETH also rebounded in the afternoon.

China banned individuals and organizations raising money through ICOs, a form of fundraising in which technology startups issue their own digital coins, or “tokens,” to investors to access funds.

The People’s Bank of China, the securities and banking regulators and other government departments said in a statement that ICO is “a kind of unauthorized and illegal public fundraising”.