Economic Daily: Virtual currency speculation has risen recently, and the "cryptocurrency circle" must continue to "shrink"

Recently, the People's Bank of China held a work conference for the second half of 2021, mentioning that it would urge and guide platform companies to make comprehensive rectifications in accordance with regulatory requirements and maintain a high-pressure stance on virtual currency trading speculation. Immediately afterwards, the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China stated that it would continue to guard against risks in virtual currency trading and ICO token issuance, and urge the rectification of newly discovered illegal businesses.
The regulators have once again sent out strong regulatory signals because of the recent rise in virtual currency speculation. Since late July, the price of Bitcoin has continued to rise, from $29,000 to $42,000, a new high since May. "Bitcoin is expected to exceed $100,000 in three years" and "Bitcoin is undervalued by the market and will rise to $700,000 in the next 10 years" and other high-profile calls have been heard on social media. Another round of "cryptocurrency" craze has returned, and it is urgent for regulators to cool it down.
Regarding the issue of virtual currency trading speculation, the attitude of my country's regulatory authorities has always been clear and resolute. As early as 2013, the central bank and five other departments jointly issued a notice stating that virtual currency is not issued by the monetary authority, is not a real currency, and cannot and should not be circulated and used as currency in the market. In 2017, the central bank and seven other departments jointly issued an announcement to stop the issuance and financing of various tokens and carry out special rectification. Since May this year, in response to the skyrocketing and plummeting of virtual currencies and the chaos, the regulatory authorities have quickly taken action: on the one hand, they cut off the trading channels of financial institutions and payment institutions participating in the virtual currency market, and on the other hand, they cleaned up and rectified domestic mining activities, extinguishing the "false fire" of virtual currency speculation in all directions.
The iron fist on virtual currency is to help investors recognize the high risks behind the speculation of virtual currency and resolutely prevent individual risks from spreading to the social field. At present, virtual currency has become a payment tool for some money laundering and illegal economic activities. A large number of speculators are involved in it. Through price manipulation, ordinary investors who are not aware of the reason are attracted to enter the market. The ultimate goal is to "cut leeks". At the same time, in order to evade domestic supervision, the speculation of virtual currency transactions "bypasses" overseas and avoids the bank payment system, which may not only affect financial security and social stability, but also bring risks to the international currency and payment and clearing system.
Even under the heavy pressure of supervision, the hype of virtual currency has cooled down in the past two months. Multiple trading platforms have announced the suspension of services in China, some "mining" companies have moved their equipment overseas, and well-known "currency circle" bosses have announced their withdrawal from the circle. However, there are still some platform institutions and investors who are waiting and watching and taking chances, lurking in the "circle", ready to take action at any time.
Maintaining a high-pressure stance on virtual currency trading speculation is to break this illusion and leave no room for speculation. For platforms and institutions involved in virtual currency trading, we will investigate and punish them once we find them, and enforce the law with an iron fist; for the responsible entities that use virtual currency to engage in illegal and criminal activities such as money laundering and smuggling, we will punish them once we find them, and enhance the deterrent effect of rectification; for invisible transactions that have moved to the OTC market and underground, we must strengthen cross-border regulatory cooperation, improve account identification and tracking capabilities, and use penetrating supervision to make illegal and criminal activities nowhere to hide.
The public should also realize that virtual currency is by no means a profitable investment product. They should enhance their risk awareness, establish a correct investment philosophy, stay away from related trading speculation activities, and actively participate in the rectification and promptly report relevant illegal and irregular clues. As long as a strong joint force is formed to rectify the speculation of virtual currency, the "currency circle" will continue to "shrink".