On Friday, the Central Bank of China reiterated its tough stance on bitcoin, calling all bitcoin-related activities “illegal.” And promised to take additional measures against their use, according to CNBC.
In the questions and answers section of its website, the central bank said that services offering trade, issuance of tokens and derivatives for virtual currencies are strictly prohibited. Foreign cryptocurrencies are also not allowed to operate in China. The bank is also required to investigate its employees in the country.
According to the bank, all currencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are not fiat currencies and cannot be traded on the market.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have turned red. Bitcoin fell 5.5%, while Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin and Dah lost more than 7%. Shares of companies associated with the cryptocurrency world are also under pressure
In addition, ten government agencies, including the central bank, said in a joint statement that they would work together to maintain “pressure” to comply with the rules and “eradicate” cryptocurrency in the country.
The central bank said on Friday that it had also improved its systems for monitoring relevant cryptocurrency transactions.
This is not the first time China has waved its finger at cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, Beijing took action against cryptocurrency mining, an energy-intensive process that checks transactions and through which new tokens are received.
China’s actions are linked to concerns about the increased risk of fraud, money laundering and overuse of electricity.
Beijing is developing its own digital currency, which should replace the paper yuan. But Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are decentralized and not subject to control by any government, company or individual.