Mainland China has reiterated its anti-crypto stance and vowed to intensify its efforts against speculation in virtual currencies, according to a report by China Daily.
Virtual currencies lack the legal status of fiat money and cannot be used as currency in markets. All related activities qualify as illegal financial operations, officials from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the Ministry of Public Security, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and other agencies stressed during an inter-agency meeting convened on Friday.
Officials warned of a recent surge in speculative trading, which poses new financial risks and challenges.
Beijing has long maintained an anti-crypto stance, targeting both mining and speculative trading. Still, China has recently re-emerged as the world’s third largest bitcoin mining hub.
During the meeting, the People’s Bank of China warned that stablecoins – tokens linked to fiat currencies – lack proper customer identification and anti-money laundering protection, enabling money laundering, illegal cross-border financing and fraud. These remarks stand in stark contrast to the US’s increasingly favorable stablecoin regulatory environment.
Although mainland China has reiterated its anti-crypto stance, Hong Kong operates under an autonomous, separate legal jurisdiction.
The Hong Kong government has supported the crypto industry, with stablecoins at the center at the government-backed Hong Kong Fintech Week and Finance Secretary Paul Chan opened CoinDesk’s consensus conference as a keynote speaker.
