In a Q&A posted to its website, the People’s Bank of China said services offering trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies are strictly prohibited.
“Overseas virtual currency exchanges that use the internet to offer services to domestic residents is also considered illegal financial activity,” the central bank said, according to a CNBC translation of the comments.
The price of Bitcoin fell nearly 6 percent to $42,124.73 and Ether, the second-largest digital currency, dropped 8 percent to $2,894.36, reported CNBC.
It’s not the first time China has made this decision. In May, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He told a group of finance officials that the government would "clamp down on Bitcoin mining and trading activity" as part of its goal to achieve financial stability.
Nine other government bodies and the People's Bank of China sa