Bitcoin, the largest token, fell 3.2 percent at one point and was trading at about $16,214 as of 7 a.m. in New York. Second-place Ether was down about 4 percent, and cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Avalanche and Dogecoin suffered even bigger losses.

The anxiety caused by China comes at a time of vulnerability for cryptocurrency markets, which are under stress from the contagion spreading from the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange and sister trading house Alameda Research.

Monday’s fall in crypto-assets came amid declines in Asian stocks and U.S. stock futures. One risk in China is that Beijing’s continued policy of limiting covid-zero mobility is hampering the stabilization of domestic demand

Markets may also fear that the unrest in China will lead to further supply chain constraints around the world. Such tightening could make it harder to fight inflation, leading to higher interest rates.

Bitcoin fell about 21% in November, its worst monthly performance since June. The cryptocurrency rut has cut nearly 70% of the top 100 digital assets this year.