China has decided to block all foreign cryptocurrency trading websites and ICOs, the South China Morning Post reports.
The move is part of an ongoing effort by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to crackdown on cryptocurrency trading.
China started shutting down domestic exchanges in September last year, but that wasn’t enough to curb people from finding offshore platforms to carry out cryptocurrency trading.
Japan and Hong Kong reportedly turned into hotspots for Chinese citizens to continue trading cryptocurrencies after China banned ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges in September.
People buy and sell cryptocurrencies at cryptocurrency exchanges.
China aims to remove onshore and offshore trading platforms
A report published on Sunday night by Financial News, a publication closely affiliated with the PPBOC, said:
“To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs.”
The Financial News article added:
“ICOs and virtual currency trading did not completely withdraw from China following the official ban … after the closure of the domestic virtual currency exchanges, many people turned to overseas platforms to continue participating in virtual currency transactions.
“Overseas transactions and regulatory evasion have resumed … risks are still there, fuelled by illegal issuance, and even fraud and pyramid selling.”
Lloyds Bank announcement
On Monday, British retail and commercial bank Lloyds announced that it will block cryptocurrency purchases made with credit cards, following suit of major US banks (including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America).
Video – What is a cryptocurrency
Do you know what cryptocurrencies are? You have probably read about them in the news, but do not fully understand how they function. This Market Business News video offers a simple explanation.