China is doubling down hard on its apparent hatred of all things cryptocurrency. In a new Q&A posted to its website, the People’s Bank of China declared that all activities related to cryptocurrency are now illegal and that the country will be cracking down on services offering trading, order matching, token issuance, and derivatives for virtual currencies. The decision follows Beijing’s crackdown on crypto mining, which began earlier this year.
“Overseas virtual currency exchanges that use the internet to offer services to domestic residents is also considered illegal financial activity,” the central bank said, according to a translation shared by CNBC. The note also suggests that workers at foreign crypto exchanges will be investigated.
“Financial institutions and nonbank payment institutions cannot offer services to activities and operations related to virtual currencies,” the People’s Bank of China added.
The price of bitcoin has fallen dramatically as a result of China’s statements. From CNBC’s report:
The price of bitcoin sank over 6.5 percent in 24 hours, last trading at around $41,882, according to Coin Metrics data at midmorning Friday ET. Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset, fell 9 percent to around $2,867.
Stocks with heavy exposure to crypto also slumped in midmorning trading on the Nasdaq, with Coinbase down 2 percent, MicroStrategy slipping 5 percent and Riot Blockchain down over 6 percent.
Despite its supposed feelings on crypto, the People’s Bank of China continues to work on its own digital currency. A virtual version of the yuan has already been tested in several regions.
Source: CNBC