BitcoinIt had fallen before the announcement, fell 8.9% to $41,019 in European afternoon trading, and then recovered later in the day.
The central bank stated that in recent years, Bitcoin and other virtual currency transactions have “proliferated, disrupting the economic and financial order, breeding money laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities.”
The People’s Bank of China stated that this “seriously endangers the security of the people’s assets.”
Although the creation and trading of cryptocurrencies have been illegal in China since 2019, Beijing’s further crackdown this year warned banks to stop related transactions and shut down the country’s huge network of bitcoin miners.
The central bank’s statement on Friday sent the strongest signal to date, indicating that China is closed to cryptocurrencies.
