China moves to crush bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

China banned both initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges in September. Picture / 123RF

China is to block all websites related to cryptocurrency trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs) - including foreign platforms - in a bid to finally quash the market completely.

"To prevent financial risks, China will step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs," said an article published by Financial News, a publication affiliated to the People's Bank of China.

The article acknowledged that recent attempts to stamp out digital currencies by shutting down domestic exchanges had failed to completely eradicate trading.

"ICOs and virtual currency trading did not completely withdraw from China following the official ban ... after the closure of the domestic virtual currency exchanges, many people turned to overseas platforms to continue participating in virtual currency transactions.

"Overseas transactions and regulatory evasion have resumed ... risks are still there, fuelled by illegal issuance, and even fraud and pyramid selling," the article said.

Following the reports, advertisements for cryptocurrencies have stopped appearing on Baidu, China's biggest search engine, and social media platform Weibo.

"It is common for people to use VPNs [virtual private networks] to trade cryptocurrencies, as many exchange platforms relocated to Japan or Singapore," said Donald Zhao, an individual bitcoin trader who relocated to Tokyo from Beijing late last year, following the ban.

"I think the new move literally means it would be even harder to circumvent the ban in China ... people promoting related business programmes may be arrested," Zhao said.

China banned both ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges in September, but trading by individuals has remained a murky area with many businessmen relocating to Hong Kong or Japan while still raising funds from mainland investors.

Two weeks ago, the PBOC ordered financial institutions to stop providing funding to any activity related to cryptocurrencies, further tightening the noose.

"It's positive news for Japan and Singapore, because demand for participating in trading is not diminishing and traders have got to go somewhere," said Ace Yang, executive director of Cathay Capital, a private equity firm based in Beijing.

- South China Morning Post