Beijing’s Local Govt Releases New Warning Against Crypto Trading

BEIJING, China – A new warning about cryptocurrency trading was just released by four of Beijing’s key local authorities.

The Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau, and the Business Management Department of the People’s Bank of China released a joint announcement warning companies not to conduct crypto trading activities.

According to a report from the Shanghai Securities News, the authorities have noted an uptick of cryptocurrency trading. The resurgence is said to be due to China’s increasing acceptance of blockchain technology.

Local authorities have also warned that several platforms have already violated regulations issued in 2017 that blocked initial coin offerings (ICOs).

China has stringent cryptocurrency laws in place since 2017. ICOs are banned in the country and several crypto exchange platforms have already been forced to stop operations. The capital’s Municipal Bureau of Finance has also decreed any fund-raising activities using security tokens are illegal.

Local bureaus are also mandating companies not to promote any cryptocurrency platforms or projects. They should also desist from conducting crypto trading and should not provide any crypto-related services.

Beijing is also prodding investors to stay rational, so they won’t misled by crypto firms. The government is also asking traders to report those that have violated the regulations and laws on digital currencies.

The warning is just the latest salvo in China’s campaign against cryptocurrency. The country has recently seized 6,800 crypto mining machines early this week. Authorities have claimed that the mining activities were regarded as stealing power from the country. The crackdown was done in conjunction with the State Power Department and public security firms.

According to reports, authorities carefully investigated and inspected around 70,000 households. The search area was mostly focused on the Kaiping District of Tangshan and targeted specific communities and merchants.

The investigation was launched back in April, but the machines were only confiscated Dec.25. The move to investigate the area was reportedly based on information that the mining equipment was stealing power from a nearby town.

According to translated comments from Chen Jingbo, the Director of Shuangqiao Police Station, they discovered a modified bitcoin mining machine. Their investigation allegedly determined that a privately connected transformer was being utilized to harvest bitcoin. He also said that they seized around 1,906 bitcoin miners.

Security agencies have also claimed that the confiscated mining equipment operated 24/7 and consumed massive amounts of electricity.

China has been very active in its drive to shut down cryptocurrency. Aside from campaigns against crypto mining, the country’s strict regulations have prompted five local crypto exchanges to either close their company or move operations to another country.