China will shortly block access to over one hundred international cryptocurrency exchanges and other platforms as the government’s crackdown escalates, local news media report August 23.
Beijing On Crypto: We’ll Continue To Ban Everything
According to the South China Morning Post quoting Chinese language resource Shanghai Securities News, lawmakers will shut down availability of 124 “websites operated by offshore cryptocurrency exchanges that provide trading services to citizens on the mainland.”
The move comes the same week as Beijing forbade venues including hotels, shopping malls, and offices from promoting or hosting events supporting cryptocurrency. A separate ban governing eight crypto media outlets has also come into effect, Bitcoinist reported.
According to Shanghai Securities News, central authorities “will also continue to monitor and shut down domestic websites related to cryptocurrency trades and initial coin offerings (ICOs), and ban payment services from accepting cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.”
The paper referenced “people close to the Leading Group of Internet Financial Risks Remediation,” a working group in existence since 2016 under the auspices of China’s central bank.
China’s Lonely Stance
China’s ramping up of its anti-cryptocurrency policy comes just two months after fresh optimism surfaced about a possible U-turn.
A speech from President Xi Jinping calling Blockchain an integral part of the “new industrial revolution” turned heads, with local media subsequently suggesting there could be motivation for lawmakers to readdress cryptocurrency’s status.
Nonetheless, in July, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) appeared buoyant about its ban policy reducing China’s cryptocurrency trading to less than one percent of global volume. China had previously been the world’s largest trading environment by volume.
The path regulators have chosen meanwhile puts China increasingly at odds with the rest of the international community.
Nearby South Korea, which like Beijing introduced bans on ICOs and threatened an exchange ban last year, has since opted to create a regulated environment for platform operators, while politicians are currently debating a reversal of the ICO decision.
What do you think about the latest step by China? Let us know in the comments below!
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