A small toy figurine is seen on representations of the Bitcoin virtual currency displayed in front of an image of China's flag in this illustrati

Explainer: Beijing doubles down on rooting out crypto in China

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2021-06-22 08:00:08

A small toy figurine is seen on representations of the Bitcoin virtual currency displayed in front of an image of China's flag in this illustration picture, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

SHANGHAI, June 22 (Reuters) - China's central bank said on Monday it had urged some banks and payment firms to crack down harder on cryptocurrency trading, in the latest move by Chinese authorities to stem the use of digital coins. read more

The People's Bank of China's statement sent bitcoin tumbling to a two-week low and ether to a more than five-week low. On Tuesday, prices of major cryptocurrencies stabilised. read more

The PBOC statement followed a meeting with banks and payment firms in which it urged them to thoroughly check client accounts, identify those involved in cryptocurrency transactions and promptly cut their payment channels.

China Construction Bank (601939.SS), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS), , Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) (601288.SS), and Postal Savings Bank of China (1658.HK) attended the meeting, along with Alipay, the ubiquitous payment platform owned by fintech giant Ant Group.