- China ordered domestic banks and payment platforms not to provide crypto services, Reuters reported.
- The bank also ordered them to cut the payment channels of clients involved in crypto.
Bitcoin dropped 8% on Monday amid a wide crackdown by Chinese regulators.
The People's Bank of China released a statement that revealed it met with several banks, including the Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Construction Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, the Industrial Bank, and Ant Group's mobile payment platform Alipay.
"Speculative trading in virtual currencies roils economic and financial order, spawns the risks of criminal activities such as illegal asset transfers and money laundering, and endangers people's wealth," the PBOC said in a statement.
After the meeting, some banks-such as AgBank, ICBC, CCB - and Alipay all released individual statements saying they would be more thorough in identifying the clients to root out illegal cryptocurrency-related activities.
China has been ramping up its regulation of
Over the weekend, authorities stepped up their crackdown on cryptocurrency mining by ordering 26 of the biggest miners in the Sichuan province to halt operations.
Bitcoin dropped 8% on Monday following the news. Other cryptocurrencies also dropped sharply, with ether down around 6% and binance coin roughly 4% lower, according to Coinmarketcap.
For a more in-depth discussion, come on over to Business Insider Cryptosphere — a forum where users can deep dive into all things crypto, engage in interesting discussions and stay ahead of the curve.
SEE ALSO:
India is reportedly mulling over a new crypto tax which could make trading on foreign exchanges more expensive
There’s a new Indian crypto lobby in the making and Zebpay has confirmed its participation
Investments in crypto hit a new record of $17 billion, but Indian funds are yet to jump on the bandwagon