China Plans to Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Trading

BEIJING, China – Amid the recent anti-cryptocurrency sentiments of the Chinese government, the Chinese Central Bank is planning a crackdown on crypto trading.

Although the Chinese financial ecosystem is gearing up towards creating a digital counterpart of their Yuan currency, it doesn’t take kindly when it comes to other digital currencies. The Chinese government has been campaigning against cryptocurrencies for a long time, and the Chinese authorities have recently revealed a new plan about a crypto trading crackdown.

The People’s Bank of China’s  Shanghai headquarters made a statement on Friday, stating their plans for a further crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. The Chinese authorities have previously banned initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017. Further, amid their anti-crypto campaigns, the government has also launched a massive venture to force crypto miners to drive out of the country.

Recently, the Chinese officials also took to social media their extensive campaigns against crypto, shutting down accounts of cryptocurrency companies and firms in social media platforms.

Early this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Chinese people to utilize blockchain for innovation, calling for better use of blockchains. Included in the visions of the Chinese president is China leading a blockchain-based future. And while the PBoC is working towards China’s own digital currency, it has strongly stated its sentiments against other digital currencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies.

According to the central bank, they don’t consider cryptocurrencies as similar to blockchain. And although they are pro-blockchain, the central bank has warned Chinese citizens about the possible risks when they trade using volatile digital assets. In financing and trading using virtual currency, there are multiple risks involved, such as business failure, false assets, and investment speculation, the regulator said.

Further, the central bank said that it is looking for new measures to adopt, such as interviews and inspections. The central bank also plans to ban firms that it currently monitors to shut off issues about crypto trading.

Based on reports, there are already 39 illegal cryptocurrency entities that the Schengen law enforcement units have identified in the area. They are reportedly involved in fraudulent schemes that involve crypto coins, although the authorities haven’t revealed any more details about their operations.

With the recent news on the upcoming crackdown on crypto trading, the Chinese government is planning, the crypto market was largely affected, with the Bitcoin price going down about 10%. While the precise degree of the crypto trading crackdown is still unknown, this fresh effort from the government might force crypto companies to shift base.