Bitcoin Photo: CFP

 
China's Bitcoin trading has plunged to 10 percent of the global share from 90 percent, and the country has effectively curbed speculation in cryptocurrency trading as part of an effort to fend off domestic financial risks and restore financial order, the central bank said on Thursday.

The People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, said during an annual work conference on Tuesday that it will maintain a high-pressure crackdown on virtual currency transactions. It also outlined key financial market policies and tasks for 2022.
 
The PBC will promote the steady and sound development of the nation's financial markets, including the gold market, interbank derivatives and asset-backed securities, according to a statement released by the PBC on Friday.

Internet platforms will also be required to ensure self-inspection and rectification of their financial business, the central bank said.

China has scaled up efforts to crack down on disorder in the online financial sector, as well as battling illegal financial activities and illegal fundraising. All peer-to-peer lending platforms have shut down operations, and the outstanding loan balance has been reduced from 1.2 trillion yuan ($189.96 billion) to 49 billion yuan, while a total of 25,000 cases of illegal fundraising have been dealt with in the past five years, a bureau under the PBC said on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, all financial businesses run by internet platforms have been included in the PBC's supervision, and the central bank is now able to regulate how internet companies work with licensed financial institutions. 

China has been intensifying efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency trading and mining in recent years. Industry insiders told the Global Times that over 90 percent of crypto-related businesses have been shut down in China to date, and most Bitcoin miners have migrated abroad.

In February, the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, released a revision of the criminal judicial interpretation for illegal fundraising, adding cryptocurrency trading as a new potentially criminal act.
 
Last year, China moved to ban Bitcoin mining after outlawing cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017. 

Global Times