To protect people's "purses", the central bank continues to increase supervision of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin

People's Daily Online, Beijing, August 31st. Bitcoin and other virtual currency trading speculation is once again subject to strict supervision. "We also remind the general public again that Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are not legal tender and have no actual value support. Related transactions are purely speculative. We must enhance risk awareness, stay away from them consciously, and protect our "money bags". If you find any clues of illegal fund-raising crimes, you must report them to the relevant departments in a timely manner." Yin Youping, deputy director of the Financial Consumer Rights Protection Bureau of the People's Bank of China, reiterated at a media briefing a few days ago.
Industry insiders believe that the People's Bank of China's re-mention of Bitcoin regulation once again demonstrates the strict regulatory attitude of my country's regulatory authorities towards Bitcoin and other virtual currencies and their transactions. At present, the development of virtual currencies is still in a disorderly state, and there are hidden financial risks. At the same time, virtual currencies have the characteristics of decentralization and anonymity. There are still many illegal and criminal activities around virtual currencies, especially in the fields of money laundering and illegal fundraising, which have a relatively bad impact.
As early as December 2013, the People's Bank of China and five other ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks" which clearly pointed out that Bitcoin has four main characteristics: no centralized issuer, limited total amount, no geographical restrictions on use, and anonymity. Although Bitcoin is called "currency", it is not a real currency because it is not issued by the monetary authorities and does not have monetary attributes such as legal compensation and compulsion. In terms of nature, Bitcoin should be a specific virtual commodity that does not have the same legal status as currency and cannot and should not be circulated and used as currency in the market.
my country has always maintained a strict regulatory attitude towards transactions related to virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. This year, on July 30, the People's Bank of China's 2021 second half work conference emphasized that a high-pressure situation should be maintained on virtual currency trading speculation; on July 6, the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and the People's Bank of China Business Management Department jointly issued a risk warning, reminding consumers not to participate in virtual currency trading speculation activities, not to blindly follow virtual currency-related speculative behaviors, and be careful to prevent personal property and rights from being damaged; on June 21, the People's Bank of China interviewed some banks and payment institutions on the issue of virtual currency trading speculation and pointed out that all institutions should promptly cut off the transaction funds payment chain; on May 21, the 51st meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council clearly pointed out that Bitcoin mining and trading should be cracked down; on May 18, the three major financial industry associations jointly issued an announcement requiring member institutions not to carry out virtual currency trading and exchange and other related financial businesses...
"In response to the rebound in virtual currency trading speculation, since the beginning of this year, the People's Bank of China has worked with relevant departments to monitor and track overseas exchanges and domestic traders, block and crack down on related websites and apps, cut off payment channels, and strengthen policy publicity. The heat of virtual currency trading speculation has declined significantly." Yin Youping said that at the same time, as a member unit of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference on Dealing with Illegal Fund-raising, the People's Bank of China actively cooperated with the leading department, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and did a lot of work in many aspects such as system construction, monitoring and early warning, crackdown and disposal, publicity and education, and resolutely cracked down on illegal fundraising activities carried out in the name of "virtual currency" and "blockchain."
Experts said that the sharp rise and fall of Bitcoin prices this year has exacerbated financial market turmoil and may induce systemic financial risks. The public should fully understand the nature and risks of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, resist temptation, protect their wallets, and not participate in any form of transactions or speculation.
"In the next step, the People's Bank of China will establish a normalized working mechanism, maintain a high-pressure situation, and continue to crack down on related transaction speculation activities," said Yin Youping.