Various Chinese regulators announced a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, the latest in a concerted effort to address illicit activities conducted using digital assets. The announcement on September 24, 2021, authored by a group of agencies including the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the People’s Bank of China, among others, represents the government’s most direct and sweeping action against cryptocurrencies to date. “Virtual currency derivative transactions are all illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited,” the People’s Bank of China said on its website.

This comes after other recent efforts to curb cryptocurrency access, mining, and trading in China that stopped short of this sort of broad ban on cryptocurrency-related activity. And, as we previously discussed, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has also been contemplating the proper means for its regulation and enforcement activities regarding cryptocurrency.

This is a developing story, and it remains to be seen the extent to which the prohibition announced by the Chinese regulators is realized. View the full announcement for more information.