The Notice on Preventing Bitcoin Risks issued by the People's Bank of China and other five ministries and commissions clarified the nature of Bitcoin, and held that Bitcoin was not issued by the monetary authorities, did not have monetary attributes such as legal compensation and coercion, and was not a real currency.
In nature, bitcoin is a specific virtual commodity, which does not have the same legal status as currency, and cannot and should not be used as currency in the market.
However, as a commodity transaction on the Internet, ordinary people have the freedom to participate at their own risk.
According to the circular, Bitcoin Internet sites, as the main trading platform of Bitcoin, should be filed with the telecommunications regulatory authorities in accordance with the provisions of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Telecommunications Regulations and the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services.
At the same time, in view of the high risk of money laundering and the risk of being exploited by criminals, the Notice requires relevant institutions to effectively fulfill their legal anti-money laundering obligations such as customer identification and suspicious transaction reporting in accordance with the requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), so as to effectively prevent money laundering risks related to Bitcoin.
Extended data:
The Notice requires that at this stage, financial institutions and payment institutions should not price products or services with Bitcoin, buy or sell Bitcoin as a central counterparty, underwrite insurance business related to Bitcoin or include Bitcoin in the scope of insurance liability, and should not directly or indirectly provide customers with other services related to Bitcoin, including: providing customers with services such as Bitcoin registration, trading, clearing and settlement;
Accept bitcoin or use bitcoin as a payment and settlement tool; Carry out bitcoin exchange services between RMB and foreign currency; Conduct bitcoin storage, custody, mortgage and other businesses;
Issuing financial products related to Bitcoin; Take Bitcoin as the investment target of trusts, funds and other investments.
References:
Five ministries and commissions, including the Central People's Government and the People's Bank of China, issued notices on preventing bitcoin risks.