After the Chinese government announced it would step up efforts to eradicate cryptocurrency mining, the token market plummeted, including bitcoinAt a time when virtual currencies are raising concerns about their environmental impact.

The information from Beijing took many investors by surprise, given that it is the world's second largest economy attacking a business, on its territory, corresponding to 70% of the global cryptocurrency supply, according to "Reuters".

Cryptocurrency 'miners', including HashCow and BTC.TOP, have halted all or part of their operations in China.

A committee of the State Council, headed by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, justified the move as "part of efforts to avoid financial risks."

This was the first time that China's cabinet has had a focus on virtual currency mining. Consequently, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi this Monday suspended cryptocurrency mining and some business services for new customers from mainland China, adding that it will focus on overseas business instead.

"Cryptocurrency mining consumes a lot of energy, which goes against China's carbon neutrality goals," said Chen Jiahe, chief investment officer at Beijing-based Novem Arcae Technologies. The "attack" is also part of China's accelerated effort to curb speculative cryptocurrency trading, Jiahe added.

In light of this decision, bitcoin is now 50% below its all-time high. It fell as far as 17% on Sunday, before cutting some losses. For its part, Ethereum fell to two-month lows on Sunday, 60% below a record high reached just 12 days ago.

Investor protection and money laundering are particular concerns for global financial regulators who are struggling to decide whether and how they should regulate the cryptocurrency industry. The latest shakeup in digital currencies also stems from stricter scrutiny in the United States. Last Thursday, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that tokens pose "risks to financial stability and indicate that greater regulation of the increasingly popular electronic currency may be necessary."