China’s Central Bank on Friday said all virtual-currency-related activities are illegal, according to guidelines issued to further crackdown on the risk of virtual-currency trading and speculation.
It is a huge blow to cryptocurrencies as the regulator renewed its tough talk on bitcoin.
The regulator is now calling all digital currency activities illegal and vowing to crack down on the market.
In a Q&A posted to its website, the People’s Bank of China said services offering trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies are strictly prohibited. Overseas crypto exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal, the PBOC said.
“Overseas virtual currency exchanges that use the internet to offer services to domestic residents is also considered illegal financial activity,” the PBOC said, according to a CNBC translation of the comments.
This is not the first time Beijing has moved to intensify crackdown on cryptocurrecy.
In June, a number of provinces in China were ordered to close as Beijing turns a sharp eye to the industry.
Authorities in China’s province of Sichuan ordered the closure of 26 mines the same month.
The price of bitcoin sank about 2.5 percent on the news, last trading at around Ksh.4,651,030.56.
