Cryptocurrency clampdown continues as China on Friday declared Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies’ transactions “illegal.”
Gatekeepers News reports that China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, in a statement issued on Friday, said the virtual currencies are disrupting economic order and linked to money laundering, fraud and other illicit activities.
The statement stressed that cryptocurrencies do not have the same status as legal tender and cannot be used as currency in the marketplace.
The Chinese government also noted that it’s illegal for overseas virtual currency exchanges to provide services to Chinese residents through the internet.
The announcement from Beijing came at a time China is experimenting with its digital currency. The digital yuan, which is expected to be rolled out at a larger scale soon, has many similarities to current cryptocurrencies but the major difference is that it can be easily traced and regulated by the government.
Gatekeepers News reports that cryptocurrencies plunged in value on Friday after China’s announcement. According to Coin Desk data, Bitcoin lost 8 percent but recovered some initial losses and was down by some 5 percent late Friday morning. Ethereum initially shed more than 10 percent, but was down by some 7% as of 11:30 am ET.
