Currency and control: why China wants to undermine bitcoin

Beijing's crackdown on cryptocurrencies has captured headlines, while behind the scenes its reserve bank set up its own digital currency

Few would dispute that China's recent crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining has contributed to the recent plunge in the value of bitcoin and other cryptos.

But while the argument rages about whether the volatility of cryptos is a sign of fundamental weakness or merely a bump along the road, the initiatives coming out of Beijing are being seen by experts as a sign of China's attempts to incubate its own fledgling e-currency and reboot the international financial system.