PBOC quizzes bitcoin exchange as yuan slide spooks authorities
Central bank tells virtual currency site to ‘rectify mistakes’ as value plummets following yuan spike, having previously surged as mainland investors sought yuan hedge
The People’s Bank of China’s is stepping up policing bitcoin trading on the mainland as Beijing is spooked by fears that the digital currency would ratchet up pressure on a depreciating yuan.
PBOC’s Shanghai headquarters yesterday said it had convened a meeting with executives of BTC China, a Shanghai-based bitcoin exchange, to warn it of risks in rampant trading of the digital currency.
The online trading platform was also required to “rectify mistakes”, the central bank said in a statement, without elaborating.
Bitcoin is regarded by a group of mainland speculators as a tool to hedge against yuan devaluation; some of them also use bitcoin to bypass China’s capital control to direct their assets abroad.
The PBOC barred mainland companies from accepting bitcoin transactions.
But trading platforms which technically act as information providers, rather than offering payment and settlement services, can still operate.