China bans cryptocurrency activities

The Bank of the People’s Republic of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank, issued a statement in which it effectively prohibits any activity related to cryptocurrencies, including payments, “trading” and advertising activities, alluding to the risks that entails for national stability due to the risks of speculation.

The news almost immediately affected the price of cryptocurrencies. The more than 9,300 cryptocurrencies that are listed on the CoinGecko information website registered a 5.3 % drop compared to their price of 24 hours ago.

The bitcoin, registered a fall of 2.5 %, reaching an exchange rate of 42,522.2 dollars, while ethereum fell 6 %, to 2,901.13 dollars. On its side, cardano fell 1.8 % to $ 2.17 and binance coin stood at $ 351.3, 6.1 % less.

The PBOC highlighted that digital currencies do not have the same consideration as legal currencies, so they are not legal and should not be used as a currency in the market.

Likewise, the central bank indicated that all business activities related to cryptocurrencies are illegal. This includes exchange rate services between official currencies and crypto assets, exchange services between different digital assets, the clearing and settlement of assets as a central counterparty, the provision of cryptocurrency price information, the issuance of tokens and the transactions of derivatives linked to cryptographic coins.

K. Tovar

Source: DW