The biggest Bitcoin exchange in China said Wednesday that it's no
longer accepting yuan deposits, dealing another setback to the virtual
currency.
BTC China's announcement on its Twitter-like Sina Weibo
account comes two weeks after China's central bank said the country's
banks and payments systems were barred from handling the virtual
currency.
The exchange said that "due to the reasons that everyone
knows, BTC China has to temporarily stop its yuan account recharging
functions."
Account holders can still top up their accounts using Bitcoins and withdraw yuan, the exchange said.
"BTC
China will continue to operate. Please continue to monitor our website,
we will try to offer another way to recharge," it said.
The price
of Bitcoins tumbled after the midday announcement, sinking as low as
2,503 yuan ($412) by early evening after starting the day at 3,755 yuan
($618).
The Chinese central bank warned earlier this month that
Bitcoins don't have any legal status or monetary equivalent and
shouldn't be used as currency, adding that financial institutions and
payment systems could not sell, trade or store Bitcoins.
The
measures reflect growing concern by authorities that the cybercurrency,
which is created, distributed and authenticated independently of any
bank or government, could pose a viable alternative to China's tightly
controlled yuan, which is not freely convertible.
The relative
anonymity of Bitcoins holds out the promise of being able to spend money
across the Internet without scrutiny. Despite wild swings in value, the
cybercurrency has been moving toward broader acceptance, with a growing
number of companies accepting Bitcoins, which can be converted into
cash.
Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/12/18/3673221/china-bitcoin-exchange-bans-yuan.html#storylink=cpy
Title : yuan deposits banned by China Bitcoin exchange
Description : The biggest Bitcoin exchange in China said Wednesday that it's no longer accepting yuan deposits, dealing another setback to the virt...