The People’s Bank of China held a meeting with banking and payment giants to push for a greater crackdown on cryptocurrencies in the country.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) urged major financial players at the meeting to conduct thorough checks on client accounts to identify crypto-linked transactions and cut their payment channels, according to a statement.
The statement did not mention when the meeting was held but noted that participants included state-owned lenders Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) and Postal Savings Bank of China as well as mainland payments giant Alipay.
Immediate Action
Following the PBoC’s statement, AgBank, ICBC, CCB and Alipay issued their own notices of compliance.
AgBank said it would conduct due diligence to close accounts and cut relationships linked with crypto trading. It also cautioned clients against crypto fraud and encouraged reporting illegal activities, though the statement was later removed, according to a «Reuters» report citing the bank's website.
Alipay said it would set up a monitoring system targeting key website and accounts while blacklisting any merchants involved in crypto transactions.
Continued Crackdown
The PBoC’s meeting follows a statement by China’s State Council last month to tighten against trading and mining of cryptocurrencies.
Since then, various restrictions have been reportedly applied such as bans against influential social media accounts with related content and blockage of crypto-linked searches online.
