Bitcoin and ethereum tumbled into the red on Friday, with traders rattled by tough talk out of China.

The price of bitcoin fell about 5% to $42,260, according to Coin Metrics data. EthereumThe second-largest cryptocurrency, dubbed “” fell by more than 8 percent to $2,868.

It comes after the People’s Bank of China said in a Q&A that all crypto-related activities are illegal. The PBOC declared that trading services, order matching and derivatives for virtual currency are prohibited. It also stated that overseas exchanges are illegal.

This year, Beijing took a sharp stance against crypto. China’s government has taken steps to ban digital currency mining. This energy-intensive operation validates transactions and creates new coins. This led to a sharp decline in bitcoin’s processing speed as miners shut down their machines.

The PBOC prohibited banks, non-bank financial institutions and Ant Group (an affiliate of Alibaba) from offering services related to virtual currencies. In July, authorities told a Beijing-based software company to shut down over its involvement with crypto trading.

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