China has finally expanded its crypto-crackdown outside the mining industry. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) today declared that all transactions involving virtual currencies—with one major exception that we’ll discuss in a little bit—are illegal.
The PBOC said when it issued new crypto-related rules in June that “virtual currency trading speculation activities disrupt the normal economic and financial order, breed the risk of illegal and criminal activities such as illegal cross-border asset transfer and money laundering, and seriously infringe on the property safety of the people.”
However, much of the Chinese government’s attention went to cryptocurrency mining operations, which have been outlawed in provinces throughout the country. But now it seems the PBOC is finishing what it started three months ago, with the regulator issuing an extensive statement that reads in part:
