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Bulletins

China expands crypto crackdown to software

Authorities suspended the website of Beijing Tongdao Cultural Development, a company they said was providing software for "virtual currency" transactions.

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China is cracking down on crypto mining again.
Image: Protocol

Just weeks after Chinese regulators announced a ban on crypto transactions and services, two Beijing municipal agencies shut down a Beijing-based software company accused of violating the order.

The Beijing Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau and the Business Administration Department of the People's Bank of China also suspended the website of the Beijing Tongdao Cultural Development.

The Beijing regulators also issued a statement, urging people to "promptly report tips about violations of laws and regulations related to virtual currency transactions."

"Do not participate in virtual currency trading activities, do not blindly follow virtual currency-related speculative behavior, and beware of damage to personal property and rights," the agencies said. "Personal bank accounts should be cherished and not used for withdrawing or funding virtual currency accounts [...] to prevent illegal use and the breach of personal information."

Benjamin Pimentel

Benjamin Pimentel ( @benpimentel) covers crypto and fintech from San Francisco. He has reported on many of the biggest tech stories over the past 20 years for the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch and Business Insider, from the dot-com crash, the rise of cloud computing, social networking and AI to the impact of the Great Recession and the COVID crisis on Silicon Valley and beyond. He can be reached at bpimentel@protocol.com or via Google Voice at (925) 307-9342.

and
Shen Lu

Shen Lu is a former Protocol reporter, covering China's tech industry.

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