Bitcoin Drops Toward $60,000 As Major Cryptocurrencies Plunge

On Tuesday, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plummeted from near-record highs.

During late morning transactions in Singapore, the world's biggest digital currency plummeted below $60,000. According to Coin Metrics data, it was trading for roughly $60,542 at 9:26 a.m. London time (4:26 a.m. ET) at 9:26 a.m. London time (4:26 a.m. ET), down 5% from the previous day.

Ether, on the other hand, declined 6% to $4,229 per coin.

The reason for the price change was unclear.

During a news conference on Tuesday, China's state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), stated that it will continue to clean up virtual currency mining in the country.

China's crackdown on Bitcoin mining earlier this year resulted in a mass migration of miners. Mining is an energy-intensive process that both produces new currencies and keeps track of all current digital currency transactions.

The quantity of energy utilized by mining is a source of worry for Beijing.

Exploration and mining "This result in significant energy usage and carbon emissions. It has no active role in driving industrial growth or scientific advancement "According to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin statements, NDRC spokesman Meng Wei stated on Tuesday.

"Regulating cryptocurrency mining operations is critical to optimizing our industrial structure, reducing energy consumption and emissions, and attaining carbon emission and neutrality targets."

Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China aspires to be carbon neutral by 2060.

The NDRC has stated that it will concentrate on state-owned enterprises that are involved in bitcoin mining. It also stated that it is considering levying "punitive power costs" on people who engage in bitcoin mining while paying a residential electricity rate.

Since earlier this year, China's authorities have been working on eradicating bitcoin mining.

Pullback From Record Highs

Cryptocurrency prices are also falling after several of them set all-time highs in November.

On November 10, bitcoin hit a new high of $68,990.90, and ether followed suit on November 11.

"After a 7-week surge from 40K to 69K, I believe we're witnessing a healthy retreat, which is expected in an upward trend," Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, told CNBC via email.