I typed on Bitcoin on google today and found a interesting article. It's copied/pasted below, what does this mean for Bitcoin? Why does China keep bashing it?
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304655304579547251552490962?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304655304579547251552490962.html_______________________________________________________________________________
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BEIJING—China's central bank recently summoned senior executives of the country's major banks, urging them to cut off all bitcoin-related business and hardening its already-tough stance on the virtual currency.
The People's Bank of China 601988.SH +0.39% warned the banks they need to set up special groups to monitor accounts that might be conducting bitcoin-related trades and said those that failed to observe its tightened restrictions would be subject to public censure, according to bank officials.
The central bank, which initially took a more neutral position on bitcoin, late last year began shifting its stance out of concern that the virtual currency might be used to skirt capital controls or thwart anti-money-laundering regulations.
More recently the People's Bank of China has called bitcoin a "tool for speculation."
Bitcoin is generated by computers and isn't backed by any central bank or government.
China initially was an important market for bitcoin, and demand in the world's second-largest economy had propelled global prices sharply higher.
The price of the virtual currency stood at $1,147.25 on Dec. 4—the day the Chinese central bank made its first announcement of restrictions on bitcoin business. Bitcoin was at $427.29 in afternoon trading Wednesday, according to the website of London-based Coindesk, which tracks global bitcoin news and prices.
At a meeting on April 24, central-bank officials admonished a number of banks, including the top five state-run banks, for not strictly observing the central bank's tightened regulations. All five of the banks had continued to allow new bitcoin-related accounts to be opened despite warnings against this practice, people familiar with the matter quoted central bankers as saying.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 601398.SH +0.59% , the nation's biggest bank in terms of assets, declined to comment. The other four big banks—China Construction Bank Corp., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. 601288.SH -0.42% , Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of Communications Co. 601328.SH -0.27% —didn't immediately reply to requests for comment.
The central bank didn't have an immediate comment.
In its Dec. 4 notice to commercial banks, the People's Bank of China said that domestic financial institutions couldn't conduct settlement or payments related to bitcoin. It also barred trust companies and fund-management firms from making bitcoin-related investments and advised insurers not to insure bitcoins.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the central bank had ordered commercial banks and payment firms to shut bitcoin trading accounts as of April 15.
In the April meeting with commercial bank executives, the central bankers said bitcoin trading remained quite active, and that banks needed to "fully appreciate" the risks associated with the fledgling business.
Commercial banks should also post statements before May 10 notifying clients that using their accounts at the bank to trade bitcoin is prohibited, they said.
"We are checking accounts suspected of having links with bitcoin business after the central bank's latest order," said one bank official familiar with the central bank's latest warning.
Bank of China, the country's fourth-largest lender by assets, and China Merchants Bank Co. 600036.SH -0.10% , the sixth-largest by assets, announced last month that institutions and individuals would be prohibited from using their bank accounts to conduct bitcoin trading.
Agricultural Bank of China on Wednesday posted a similar statement on its website.
In China, there are few outlets where bitcoin can be used to buy goods and services.
Last month, BTC China, one of the country's leading digital currency exchanges, installed China's first bitcoin ATM in Shanghai and launched an online app allowing individuals to buy and sell bitcoins. The ATM isn't connected to any of China's banks.
—Grace Zhu
