As cryptocurrency prices plunged mid-January, and Bitcoin dropped to around $10,000 on January 16th, companies with their fortunes tied up in blockchain and digital currencies are also affected.

The drastic fall resulted from news of Asian regulators stepping up their attempts to impose some kind of order on the system. China has already banned digital currency exchanges, and at the beginning of the week was reported to be targeting associated services. South Korea, which is one of the largest cryptocurrency trading communities, is still considering its regulatory actions.

Companies affected by these announcements include Square, a payments processing firm headed up by the CEO of Twitter, which had announced plans to incorporate some Bitcoin trading. On January 16th, Square's market value declined by 5%, or around $90m, ending its regular trading at a market value of $15.1bn. Ecommerce company, Overstock.com, who are deeply invested in blockchain technology and allow their customers to make payments in cryptocurrency, fell in value by 11%. Its trading ended at a $1.8bn market cap on January 16th, which represents an overall loss of about $200m.

Others who experienced losses include those who recently jumped on the blockchain bandwagon, including Kodak, Riot Blockchain (formerly Bioptix) and former iced tea makers, Long Blockchain.