Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies slumped after the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) reiterated that digital tokens can’t be used as a form of payment.

The largest token fell below $40,000 for the first time since early February, dropping as much as 10% to $38,973 on Wednesday and continuing a weeklong slide sparked by Elon Musk’s back-and-forth comments on Tesla Inc.’s holdings of the coin. Ether, Dogecoin and last week’s sensation, Internet Computer, also retreated.

"This is the latest chapter of China tightening the noose around crypto,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of Nexo in London, a cryptocurrency lender.