Price of Bitcoin Tops $500 as China Fears Subside

The price of bitcoin continued its upward trend on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) today, rising roughly 9% to top $500.

As of press time, the price had increased roughly $43 over the course of the day, climbing from a low of $452.17 to a high of $514.72.

The recent recovery, sparked by comments from People's Bank of China (PBOC) governor Zhou Xiaochuan, continued as the 15th April deadline allegedly imposed by the central bank came and went without any additional account closures or adverse actions taken against the major exchanges.

In recent weeks, a number of Chinese exchanges reported that their banking providers had received notice that the PBOC would tightly enforce guidance meant to better separate the country's state-backed financial system from the nascent bitcoin industry.

In response to this perceived threat, account closures were reported at BTCTrade, BTC100 and Huobi, among other exchanges.

The price hit a low of $380 on 11th April, however it has been trending upward following Xiaochuan's confirmation that the PBOC did not intend to ban bitcoin.

China market sees similar recovery

The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk CNY BPI was also up roughly 9% for the day, rising ¥277.61 at press time to reach ¥3,158.38.

This figure was up from the opening price of ¥2,880.77, but down slightly from a high of ¥3,173.48 observed earlier in the day.

The CoinDesk CNY BPI incorporates prices at major China-based exchanges BTC China and OKCoin.

Confidence rises in China

Since much of the bitcoin's price decline was spurred by fears related to regulation in China, the lack of action by the PBOC is likely to be the primary motivator for the recent increase.

The potential change in policy was first reported by Chinese financial news site Caixin in March, however, to date, no documents have surfaced to confirm that the PBOC was looking to take such action.

Major Chinese exchanges such as Huobi and OKCoin, however, were exploring any and all possibilities should the PBOC take action against their services, even openly suggesting that they were making preparations to move operations overseas if necessary.

However, it should be noted that the PBOC has yet to confirm or deny any additional actions against exchanges, meaning it is unknown exactly what the future may hold for the country's bitcoin businesses.

Images by CoinDesk