The People's Bank of China Leads Thirteen Departments to Deploy Special Action to Crack Down on Virtual Currency Trading Speculation

BlockBeats News, November 29, the People's Bank of China held a coordination mechanism meeting to crack down on speculation in virtual currency transactions on November 28. Officials from the Ministry of Public Security, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Justice, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange attended the meeting.

The meeting pointed out that in recent years, all units have earnestly implemented the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, in accordance with the requirements of the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Speculation in Virtual Currency Transactions" jointly issued by ten departments including the People's Bank of China in 2021, resolutely cracked down on speculation in virtual currency transactions, rectified the chaos in the virtual currency market, and achieved significant results. Recently, influenced by various factors, speculation and trading of virtual currencies have resurged, and related illegal and criminal activities have occurred from time to time, posing a new situation and new challenges to risk prevention and control.

The meeting emphasized that virtual currency does not have the same legal status as fiat currency, does not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be used as a circulating currency in the market, and that virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities. Stablecoins are a form of virtual currency, which currently cannot effectively meet requirements such as customer identification and anti-money laundering, and pose risks of being used for money laundering, illegal fundraising, and unauthorized cross-border fund transfers.

The meeting required all units to adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as a guide, fully implement the spirit of the 19th Party Congress and the Party's recent plenary sessions, take risk prevention and control as the eternal theme of financial work, continue to adhere to the prohibition policy on virtual currency, and consistently crack down on illegal financial activities related to virtual currency. All units should deepen coordination, improve regulatory policies and legal basis, focus on key areas such as information flow and fund flow, enhance information sharing, further enhance monitoring capabilities, vigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities, protect the property security of the people, and maintain the stability of economic and financial order.