Banks continue to "block" Bitcoin, CITIC prohibits the use of accounts for Bitcoin transactions

Recently, China CITIC Bank announced that in order to protect the property rights and interests of the public, maintain the legal currency status of the RMB, and prevent money laundering risks, from now on, no institution or individual may use the bank's accounts for activities such as recharging and withdrawing transaction funds for Bitcoin, Litecoin, etc., buying and selling related transaction recharge codes, and transferring related transaction funds through our bank accounts. Once discovered, the bank has the right to take measures such as suspending transactions in related accounts and canceling related accounts.

The last time the domestic banking industry “blocked” Bitcoin on a large scale was in 2014. In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China and five other ministries and commissions jointly issued a notice requiring all financial institutions and payment institutions not to conduct Bitcoin-related business. In April 2014, China Merchants Bank announced that its accounts would be prohibited from being used for transactions in “digital currencies” such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. Then, Hua Xia Bank, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Everbright Bank, Ping An Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Guangfa Bank, Industrial Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of Communications, Minsheng Bank and other 13 banks issued similar announcements in just two weeks, collectively saying “no” to Bitcoin.

The offshore banking industry has begun to reject Bitcoin. In March of this year, HSBC Holdings reportedly issued information to customers that the bank had banned customers from buying shares of US business intelligence company MicroStrategy on the trading platform HSBC Invest Direct, saying that the company's shares were "virtual currency products." The bank will not facilitate the purchase or exchange of products related to virtual currencies or involving the performance of virtual currencies. The bank still allows customers to hold, sell and transfer MicroStrategy shares, but new purchases or transfers are prohibited. HSBC is not interested in investing directly in virtual currencies and has limited interest in promoting products or securities that derive value from VC (virtual currency).

However, some overseas investment banks and asset management companies are more positive about Bitcoin. In March this year, Morgan Stanley announced that it was the first large American bank to provide Bitcoin fund services to its wealth management clients. JPMorgan Chase followed closely and announced for the first time in April that it planned to provide an actively managed Bitcoin fund to wealth management clients. Bank of New York Mellon established a new department in February to help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets, while BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, included Bitcoin in the qualified investment category of two of its funds.

On May 6, Goldman Sachs announced the launch of non-deliverable forward transactions linked to the price of Bitcoin. After the customer places an order, Goldman Sachs will use Cumberland DRW as its trading partner to buy and sell Bitcoin futures in block trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

But Bitcoin has also been criticized. At this year's Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, "stock god" Buffett did not comment on Bitcoin, but Charlie Munger did not hide his disgust for Bitcoin, "the whole development is disgusting and runs counter to the interests of civilization", just like Oscar Wilde satirized the British fox hunting, "a group of speechless people chasing a group of inedible prey". In April this year, the price of Bitcoin hit a peak of about $64,400, and then gradually fell back to about $55,900.