Director of the Central Bank's Operations Management Department: A regulatory red line has been drawn for Bitcoin platforms

China Securities Network News: Zhou Xuedong, deputy to the National People's Congress and director of the Business Management Department of the People's Bank of China, said in an exclusive interview with the media that a regulatory "red line" has been drawn for virtual commodity trading platforms such as Bitcoin, and a negative business list has been established, requiring trading platforms not to cross the "red line". For institutions with serious violations, administrative penalties or closure measures will be taken. It is recommended that virtual commodity trading platforms such as Bitcoin be included in the ongoing national Internet financial rectification scope, and be rectified and standardized, and strictly regulated.

According to China Securities Journal on the 14th, Zhou Xuedong said that Bitcoin trading has attracted much attention in recent years, with many positive and negative voices. The US Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately rejected the application to establish a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, indicating that even in the United States, where the capital market is the most developed, regulators are cautious about the risks of Bitcoin trading.

Zhou Xuedong pointed out that since January this year, we have found in the on-site inspection process that some Bitcoin trading platforms have major risks: first, some institutions are suspected of engaging in financial business in violation of regulations, including leveraged trading, financing and currency lending, continuous bidding, centralized matching, etc.; second, some institutions have not yet established internal control systems and measures for anti-money laundering in accordance with regulations, which may be used by criminals as a channel for money laundering. In addition, some platforms have non-compliant publicity, technical security risks and platform-related business risks.

Zhou Xuedong said that the on-site inspection by the regulatory authorities is still ongoing. It is clear that this year, the supervision of various aspects will only be strengthened, not relaxed. To this end, it is recommended that virtual commodity trading platforms such as Bitcoin be included in the ongoing national Internet financial rectification, and that regulatory rules be established and strictly managed.

Zhou Xuedong pointed out that, in addition to the existing financial and economic laws and regulations, my country has very limited regulatory rules for virtual commodity trading platforms such as Bitcoin. There is a lack of regulations or guidelines for the supervision of virtual commodity trading platforms such as Bitcoin and Litecoin. At the same time, Bitcoin transaction management involves the responsibilities of multiple departments. Since a regulatory information sharing and joint law enforcement mechanism has not yet been established, Bitcoin transaction supervision still needs to form a joint force.

Zhou Xuedong said that the regulation of Bitcoin will not be "one size fits all". In the short term, my country should learn from the practices of major countries and set up an observation period for Bitcoin transactions and platform operations from the perspective of blockchain technology innovation and application, and conduct dynamic regulatory assessments. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the regulatory "red line" of Bitcoin and other virtual commodity trading platforms, establish a negative business list, require trading platforms not to touch the "red line", and do a good job in risk prevention and investor protection; for institutions with serious violations, administrative penalties or closure measures may be taken.

In the long run, Bitcoin virtual commodity trading platforms need to be subject to comprehensive supervision. Explore the establishment of local financial management departments in accordance with the virtual commodity trading platform management methods, implement filing management; national financial management departments and industrial and commercial, taxation and other departments in accordance with the current regulations and division of responsibilities, each perform their duties, and implement functional supervision, including financial credit, anti-money laundering, foreign exchange management, business scope, advertising, taxation and other aspects. Local financial regulatory departments should establish a main regulatory mechanism for them as soon as possible.