Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum costs are falling as China will increase stress on cryptos even additional

China continued to throttle mining activities, telling major payment platforms and lenders that crypto trading will not be tolerated.Bitcoin (XBT) down 12% in the last 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has lost roughly half of its value since its all-time high in April. Other cryptos were overtaken by the big sell-off as well: Ethereum fell about 14% while Dogecoin slumped 26%, wiping out all of its gains since April.

Cryptocurrencies have had a tough few months for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the environmental impact of coin mining and increasing government scrutiny.

Crypto continues to receive a lot of heat from China, which has signaled a more aggressive attempt for months to restrict the use of such currencies.

The People’s Bank of China said Monday it had summoned Alipay, the Jack Ma’s Ant Group’s widespread online payment platform, along with five major lenders, telling them to “thoroughly investigate and identify” cryptocurrency exchanges and traders in order to help them all can cut off crypto trading.

“Cryptocurrency trading and speculative activities … carry the risk of illegal cross-border asset transfers and money laundering,” the central bank said.

Among the lenders were the Industrial and commercial bank (IDCBY), the Agricultural Bank of China, Chinese construction bank (CICHF), the Post Savings Bank of China and the Industrial Bank.

All six companies said in statements released after the central bank’s announcement that no institutions or individuals would be allowed to use their platforms for crypto-related activities. In addition to these remarks, Alipay also promised to step up investigations into crypto transactions on its platform.

The announcement isn’t a new policy for Beijing, but it does underscore how far the country is willing to restrict the use of Bitcoin and other digital coins.

At the weekend, Chinese state media reported that southwest China’s Sichuan Province had ordered all crypto mining operations to be suspended and the power supply to many mining facilities to be cut. The province is a major hub for mining, the process of using powerful computers to run and solve algorithms that generate new cryptocurrency coins and verify transactions.

While China isn’t banning cryptos entirely, regulators declared in 2013 that Bitcoin was not real currency and banned financial and payment institutions from trading it. At the time, they cited the risk that Bitcoin could be used for money laundering, as well as the need to “maintain financial stability” and “protect the yuan’s status as a fiat currency”.

The increasing crackdown is also serving in part to boost China’s government-sponsored digital yuan initiative, which authorities are planning to implement to keep cash flows in check.