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People’s Bank of China issues warning against blockchain investment scams.

An official Chinese tax newspaper has called on the government to impose taxes on digital currencies, despite the recent show
An official Chinese tax newspaper has called on the government to impose taxes on digital currencies, despite the recent show of hostility towards the industry by the government.

The People’s Bank of China has issued a fresh warning against investors to look out for illegal fundraising schemes involving blockchain and cryptocurrencies. The Shanghai office of PBoC has published an article detailing some common features of crypto and financial scams, in a bid to warn potential investors of the risks of unregulated investment schemes. The report published by the Chinese central bank addresses 16 common questions investors can ask before parting with their money to determine whether a cryptocurrency investment scheme could be a scam.

PBoC warns investors not to participate in illegal fundraising.

The People’s Bank of China, in its “cheat sheet,” warned against common frauds, including regular securities and pensions, as well as those concerning virtual currencies and blockchain. The report focuses on “illegal fundraising” and explains how investors can avoid falling foul of these scams. China had banned the initial coin offerings in the country back in 2017. However, the report did not mention the ICOs specifically. It identified methods similar to common digital currency use cases. Other frauds referenced in the article by PBoC include “investment funds established through the Internet” and “illegal fundraising in the form of ‘electronic gold investment.”

PBoC is expected to launch its CBDC soon.

The People’s Bank of China has been working on its centralized digital currency from 5 to 6 years and is very close to launching it. The digital yuan dubbed as DC/EP (digital currency electronic payment) is currently being tested in four Chinese cities, and multinational companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks are testing the digital currency. The central bank is expected to launch its digital currency sometime this year and become the first major nation in the world to launch its CBDC. Several economists have claimed that with the launch of Chinese CBDC, the global dominance of USD might no remain the same. Earlier, the FBI had also issued warning against the rise in crypto scams related to coronavirus.

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