China's central bank has declared all cryptocurrency-related t | Business Insider

China's central bank has declared all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal, and said foreign exchanges are banned from providing services to Chinese residents, in its strongest crackdown move yet on the digital asset industry.

Coins such as bitcoin and ether "are not legal and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market," the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Bitcoin dropped 5.7% to about $41,110 in the wake of the announcement, according to data from CoinDesk. Ether lost 9% to hit $2,788, ada declined 3% to $2.16 and Ripple's XRP moved 7% lower to 92 cents. Dogecoin fell 8% to 20 cents.

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