Last Updated on 11/06/2021 by Khushi
Over the weekend, a slew of crypto-related accounts on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform were blocked following Beijing’s action to step up on its bitcoin trading and mining crackdown.
According to analysts and a financial regulator, there’s more to come like directly linking illegal crypto activities in China with the country’s criminal law.
Last month, China’s State Council’s crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading, escalated a campaign against cryptocurrencies just days after three industry bodies banned crypto-related financial and payment services.
Access to several popular crypto-related Weibo accounts was denied over the weekend, with a message stating that each account “violates laws and rules.”
“The government makes it clear that no Chinese version of Elon Musk can exist in the Chinese crypto market,” said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU Law School.
The official Xinhua News Agency published articles exposing a number of cryptocurrency-related scams. According to CCTV, cryptocurrency is a lightly regulated asset that is frequently used in black market trade, money laundering, arms smuggling, gambling, and drug dealings.
The stepped-up crackdown comes at the same time that China’s central bank is speeding up testing of its own digital currency.
