CNBC’s Jim Cramer gives his first take on the market action ahead. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi
China’s central bank renewed its tough talk on bitcoin Friday, calling all digital currency activities illegal and vowing to crack down on the market.
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 crypto exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal, the PBOC said.
“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. Workers at foreign crypto exchanges will be investigated, it added.
The PBOC said it has also improved its systems to step up monitoring of crypto-related transactions and root out speculative investing.
“Financial institutions and nonbank payment institutions cannot offer services to activities and operations related to virtual currencies,” the central bank said, reiterating past comments.
The price of bitcoin sank over 6.5% in 24 hours, last trading at around $41,882, according to Coin Metrics data at midmorning Friday ET. Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset, fell 9% to around $2,867.
Stocks with heavy exposure to crypto also slumped in midmorning trading on the Nasdaq, with Coinbase down 2%, MicroStrategy slipping 5% and Riot Blockchain down over 6%.
It’s not the first time China has gotten tough on cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, Beijing announced a crackdown on crypto mining, the energy-intensive process that verifies transactions and mints new units of currency. That led to a sharp slump in bitcoin’s processing power, as multiple miners took their equipment offline.
The PBOC also ordered banks and nonbank payment institutions like Alibaba affiliate Ant Group not to provide services related to crypto.
In July, the central bank told a Beijing-based company to shut down for allegedly facilitating digital currency transactions with its software.
China’s crypto crackdown comes as Beijing is looking to fulfill its climate targets. The country is the world’s biggest carbon emitter and has set out to become carbon neutral by 2060.
The PBOC is also working on its own digital currency. China is seen as a leading contender in the race toward central bank-issued digital currencies, having tried out a virtual version of the yuan in several regions.
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic
Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.
The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-news-with-shepard-smith-podcast.html?__source=youtube%7Cshepsmith%7Cpodcast
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-credit-cards/
#CNBC
#CNBCTV