The National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association and the Payment and Clearing Association of China reiterated its stance on banning crypto services on May 18.
The three entities published a note confirming bans originally implemented in 2013 and 2017, respectively, that bar financial and payment institutions from providing any services related to cryptocurrency transactions and saying that initial coin offerings remain illegal.
“Virtual currency’s prices have soared and plummeted recently, resulting [in] a rebound of speculative trading activities of virtual currency,” the report on May 18 said. “It has seriously damaged the safety of the people’s investment and damaged the normal economic and financial orders.”
The goal of the notice, according to the statement, is to reiterate the bans related to cryptocurrencies that went into effect in 2013 and 2017.
In 2013, China’s central bank barred financial institutions from handling bitcoin transactions, according to a notice from China Securities Regulatory Commission.
And then again in 2017, the central bank in China declared initial coin offerings as illegal, which caused bitcoin’s down significantly.
At press time, bitcoin’s changing hands at $43,269.37, down 2.62% in the past 24 hours, according to the CoinDesk 20.