[ti:China Bans All Cryptocurrency Activities]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]China's central bank and government agencies
[00:04.56]have issued a ban on all financial activities
[00:09.72]involving Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
[00:16.68]The central bank declared in a statement Friday
[00:20.88]that business dealings related to virtual currency
[00:25.88]"are all illegal financial activities
[00:29.80]and are strictly prohibited."
[00:33.84]The statement said the central bank
[00:37.16]would work with the other agencies -- including banking,
[00:42.24]securities and foreign exchange regulators
[00:46.64]-- in an effort to stop the illegal activity.
[00:51.96]It is the first time that multiple Chinese regulators
[00:56.64]have joined forces to officially ban all activity
[01:01.60]linked to virtual currencies, also known as cryptocurrencies.
[01:09.32]The central bank said the action was taken
[01:13.32]because cryptocurrencies -- which include Bitcoin,
[01:18.24]Ethereum and others -- disrupt the country's financial system.
[01:25.64]It said such currencies are also used
[01:29.84]in money-laundering activities and other financial crimes.
[01:36.60]The news led to Bitcoin falling more than 9 percent,
[01:42.44]to $41,085 in the hours after the announcement.
[01:50.40]Ethereum dropped nearly 10 percent to around $2,800.
[01:58.92]The Chinese government banned banks
[02:02.08]from cryptocurrency activity in 2013.
[02:07.08]But it re-issued the rule again this year,
[02:11.40]suggesting the government was concerned
[02:15.16]that virtual currency activities were still going on.
[02:21.20]Financial experts say the repeated issuing of rules
[02:26.44]shows how difficult it can be
[02:29.92]for governments to identify cryptocurrency activities
[02:34.68]and effectively regulate them.
[02:38.76]Friday's statement is the most detailed and wide-ranging yet
[02:45.16]from the country's most powerful financial regulators.
[02:51.20]Supporters of cryptocurrencies
[02:54.32]say they permit anonymity and flexibility.
[02:59.16]But Chinese regulators worry
[03:02.44]they could weaken the ruling Communist Party's control
[03:06.84]over the financial system and can help hide criminal activity.
[03:13.96]The People's Bank of China is developing an electronic version
[03:19.52]of the country's yuan for virtual financial activities.
[03:24.92]This currency could be recorded
[03:28.20]and controlled by the Chinese government.
[03:32.68]Regulators in other countries have increasingly warned
[03:37.44]that cryptocurrencies need greater oversight.
[03:42.24]In the United States, Gary Gensler,
[03:45.96]the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission,
[03:50.36]has called for more protection for investors
[03:54.60]in the cryptocurrency market.
[03:57.24]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM