(Feb 13): Bitcoin is showing signs of becoming a serious asset class.

Last week's price swings hardly back up that assertion. The cryptocurrency dropped 7.8% on Thursday after news that the People's Bank of China threatened to shut exchanges that violate money-laundering rules. The announcement also prompted some of the biggest websites operating bitcoin in the country to halt withdrawals, limiting them to converting the digital coin to yuan and depositing it in local banks.

For all the volatility, though, there are indications that bitcoin is acting more grown up. Go back to December 2013, when the PBOC intervened after the cryptocurrency reached a record high of US$1,137 ($1,619). It then dropped 51.4% in a week, only to bounce back about 70% in the next two days and fall below US$600 in another week. Bitcoin then settled into a slow descent to US$183 by January 2015.

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