China’s central bank has reiterated its ban on cryptocurrency trading and yesterday said it had ordered a company in Beijing suspected of offering software services for crypto trading to shut down as part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown on the crypto industry.
Fast facts
- A Beijing office of the People’s Bank of China and a local financial regulator said on Tuesday in a joint statement that authorities had ordered Beijing Qudao Cultural Development Co. Ltd. to shut down and deactivate its website.
- Beijing Qudao operated a wide range of services, including consulting and marketing services for entertainment professionals, alongside computer technology development and consulting services, according to public records.
- The authorities warned in the statement that institutions in their jurisdictions were not allowed to provide services such as operational venues, commercial displays, marketing and payment channels for business activities related to cryptocurrencies.
- Just last month, the central bank summoned some of the country’s big banks and digital payments giant Alipay to instruct them to cut off financing sources for cryptocurrency transactions.
- The central bank’s move comes as China continues to crack down on the crypto industry. In recent months, Chinese provincial and other administrators, including authorities in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Yunnan and Sichuan, have started to clamp down on crypto mining, and Chinese miners are decamping to countries where they are less unwelcome. Some early favorites among destinations for miners are Kazakhstan, North America and Northern Europe.