The People’s Bank of China announced that all services of organizations related to digital currency are considered illegal. The regulator also imposed a ban on the operation of foreign cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. According to the financial regulator of the PRC regulator, all services related to digital currency are considered illegal.
“Financial and non-banking organizations cannot provide services for actions and operations related to virtual currencies,” CNBC quotes a translation of the message from the Chinese Central Bank. The regulator also noted that foreign cryptocurrency exchanges that provide services to Chinese residents via the Internet are conducting “illegal financial activities.”
The regulator’s message was spread by ten government departments of China, all of them announced their intention to restrict cryptocurrency trading, reports Reuters. The People’s Bank of China added that the government will “vigorously suppress virtual currency speculation” in order to “protect the property of the population and ensure economic, financial and social order.”
The Chinese authorities tightened the regulation of the cryptocurrency market in June, requiring organizations to strictly comply with the requirements to limit the risks associated with bitcoin. Before that, the authorities of Sichuan province banned the supply of electricity to mining companies. The tightening comes amid China’s plans to launch the digital yuan.