China is planning to shut down domestic bitcoin exchanges, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has drafted instructions banning Chinese platforms from providing crypto-currency trading services, the Wall Street Journal's Chao Deng reported citing people familiar with the matter. The move comes just a week after Beijing announced it was banning initial coin offerings, a virtual currency-based method of fundraising.
Here's more from the Wall Street Jounal :
But the stakes for Beijing grew as prices of virtual currencies like bitcoin soared, adding to the risk of further speculation by domestic investors. Analysts and investors say one reasonbitcoin pricesrose last year was that Chinese people began using the asset as a way to bet that the value of the yuan would fall. Virtual currencies in theory can allow holders to bypass the traditional banking system to move money outside of China's capital-controlled borders.
Bitcoin was trading 2% down today at around $4,166 Monday afternoon, down 15% from its record high at the beginning of September.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
