Cryptocurrency Promotion and Events Now Banned in Beijing

Cryptocurrency in Beijing suffered yet another blow this past week after the government released a notice stating that public spaces such as malls, hotels, guesthouses, and offices are prohibited from promoting or holding cryptocurrency-related events.

The notice, dated Aug 18, is seen as the latest in a number of steps taken by the government to reduce access to Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), whereby companies hold an event to launch their own cryptocurrency and secure funding from public investors. ICOs were officially banned in China in September 2017 but are still seen as a threat to economic stability by authorities.

As per the notice (see the original here), the new restrictions have been put in place so as to "protect the property rights of the public, protect the legal currency status of the renminbi, prevent the risk of money laundering, and maintain the security and stability of the financial system," as enforced by the snappily named National Internet Finance Risk Special Rehabilitation Leading Group Office. However, the notice does not specify what constitutes a publicity activity, but requires that anyone who encounters such activities should "report to the district office."

The move comes days after WeChat permanently blocked a number of China's biggest cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related accounts suspected of endorsing cryptocurrency, in the face of new regulations enforced by the government at the beginning of the month, as reported by Cointelegraph.

Of the most recent restrictions, Bella Shen, co-founder of Chinese hardware wallets and brand promotion service CoinWallet, says that companies and individuals have nothing to be concerned about if they "are doing real business and doing good", adding that there "are rumors that the Chinese government is to monitor exchange platforms more strictly... because there are too many fraudulent projects that launch tokens [digital assets like Bitcoin] on the exchange platforms. Before the Chinese government finds a better way to stop the fraud projects, the exchange platform will be more strictly monitored."

Part of "monitoring" stretches to the restriction of what information people can access, with China's big tech companies such as Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba in the past week quashing the online presence of cryptocurrency-related chat rooms as well as transactions that are affiliated with virtual money, according to SCMP.

Officially, it is not illegal to hold, buy, or sell Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies in China, and the development of blockchain technology is actively encouraged by the government. However, authorities have made it clear that any blockchain technology that is pursued must service the country's "real" economy, for which read: that which is controlled by the government.

For now, it remains unclear to what extent as well as the means by which this ban on cryptocurrency promotion will be enforced. We can be sure however that until the sector is properly regulated by the government and those using blockchain and cryptocurrency for nefarious means can be controlled sufficiently, it's unlikely that these restrictions will be relaxed any time soon.

Images: cryptnus.com