China Reiterates Its Position on Cryptocurrency, Vows Continued Crackdown

China’s apex bank – the People’s Bank of China has reiterated its stance on cryptocurrencies, says that every operation/transaction related to cryptocurrency remains illegal and banned within the shores of the country. The bank is also determined to increase its crackdown against every cryptocurrency operation and a new statement by the People’s Bank of China speaks volumes as to how determined it is to crack down on the cryptocurrency industry in the country.

The apex bank’s statement, which is displayed on its website, said that all cryptocurrencies, including flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin, and Tether, are not fiat currency and should not be circulated in the market. The statement also emphasized that all cryptocurrency-related transactions, including services provided by foreign exchanges to domestic residents, are illegal.

The Chinese authorities banned cryptocurrency for several concerns. Crackdown actions swept the country and various mining rigs were shut down across provinces. As of June this year, China’s continued crackdown on the crypto market had taken off more than $300 billion worth from the total digital currency market, causing the price of Bitcoin to suffer a decline. The People’s Bank of China said it spoke to payment services run by Jack Ma’s Ant Group subsidiary Alibaba, and other major payments and financial services urging these financial services companies not to provide cryptocurrency-related services such as payments, account openings, clearing, etc.

Following the ban, many cryptocurrency miners shut operations while others moved operations to places with favorable laws. In June, a logistic firm confirmed that it was moving more than three metric tons of Bitcoin mining equipment to Maryland, USA, from China. The logistics delivery firm is located in Guangzhou and offers international shipping and door delivery services. Following the shutdown of mining farms, China allegedly recovered about 8 gigawatts of electricity in June.

Chinese authorities also blocked all cryptocurrency-related accounts on the country’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo as part of the crackdown on cryptocurrency. The crackdown actions, however, continue amid trials of an indigenous cryptocurrency.

According to the country’s economic planning agency, the country should treat all plans and actions targeted at ending cryptocurrency mining and operations as important as the eradication of cryptocurrencies is important for the nation to reach its carbon goals.