China's Biggest Search Engine Stops Accepting Bitcoins

Move comes after the government banned financial institutions from using the cryptocurrency

Baidu Inc., China's biggest search engine, stopped accepting Bitcoins after the nation's central bank barred financial institutions from handling transactions, triggering a drop in the virtual currency.

Bitcoin fell more than 20 percent and was quoted at 4,250 yuan ($863) as of 3:25 p.m. Shanghai time on BTC China, the most active online exchange where it's traded. It lost 30 percent to $575 on Bitstamp, another web platform where the digital money is exchanged for dollars and other currencies.