China explores prosecution of crypto trading and mining

The relevant agencies in China have begun examining legal standards for court review and sentencing in cases involving cryptocurrency trading and mining. This was reported by Caijing Magazine, citing its own sources.

According to them, an interpretation of the application of the current rules for such cases will be published shortly.

On September 24, the People's Bank of China, together with nine agencies, issued a statement classifying cryptocurrency transactions as illegal financial activities.

Experts noted that, for the first time, the Supreme Court, People's Procuratorate and Ministry of Public Security were among the signatories.

Earlier, the media estimated that more than two dozen cryptocurrency companies have announced their withdrawal from the Chinese market amid a new wave of crackdowns on the industry.

One of them was bitcoin exchange Huobi. The platform has stopped registering new users from mainland China since September 24 and announced that it will delete all existing accounts of residents of the country by December 31.

Caijing Magazine's sources confirmed Bloomberg's information that the decision to cease operations in China was taken by the exchange's management before the tightening of regulation. However, the central bank's statement influenced the timing of its implementation.

Initially, Huobi had planned to complete the liquidation of accounts of Chinese users by June 30, 2022, the publication's interlocutors clarified.

Co-founder Li Lin explained his decision to leave China with concern for his family and referred to the months-long investigation into him.