The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau have ordered securities regulators in Shanghai to identify cryptocurrency exchanges, token issuers, and distributors of foreign ICO’s in the city so they can be shut down, The Block reports.
According to Chinese media site Caixin, the inspections in Shanghai are part of a full scale “rectification” program reinvigorated by Chinese authorities after President Xi Jinping’s recent endorsement of “blockchain” technology kicked off another stampede of cryptocurrency speculation in China:
“With the promotion of regional technology, the recent virtual currency speculation has shown signs of rising, and the regulatory authorities have frequently carried out related rectification actions against virtual currency exchanges.”
According to Morgan Stanley, prior to China’s state-wide ban on Bitcoin trading imposed in late 2016, more than 90% of the globe’s fiat-to-bitcoin trades were made using Chinese yuan currency.
According to an automated translation from the Caixin article, authorities in Shanghai have now been ordered to “arrange” the crypto sector there:
“On November 15th, a notice called ‘Developing the Renovation of Virtual Currency Trading Places’ was circulated on the Internet. A relevant person close to the central bank’s Shanghai headquarters confirmed the authenticity of the document…The document pointed out that in order to prevent the resurgence of virtual currency speculation, according to the relevant arrangements of the National Mutual Remediation Office, the Shanghai District Remediation Office is required to arrange the virtual currency-related activities within the jurisdiction.”