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The People’s Bank of China blacklists local bitcoin OTC merchants.

A pilot version of e-CNY, the mobile wallet for China’s digital yuan, has gone live on iOS and Android app stores in China.
A pilot version of e-CNY, the mobile wallet for China’s digital yuan, has gone live on iOS and Android app stores in China.

According to local news outlet WuBlockchain, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the nation’s central bank, is flagging accounts related to large cryptocurrency traders in its latest crackdown. The move is part of a broader crackdown on money laundering in China. China’s central bank had launched its drive to eradicate illegal earnings and partnered with the country’s local banks to share account information and transactional details to prevent the proliferation of unlawful funds, of which cryptocurrencies form a part in China.

Some crypto OTC accounts have reportedly been put on a “blacklist.”

Facing the consequences are China’s over-the-counter (OTC) crypto dealers and the firms that conduct trades outside of the public market (such as on crypto exchanges) and usually transact with upwards of millions of dollars. Some crypto OTC accounts have reportedly been put on a “blacklist” maintained by the central bank and are forbidden to use bank-issued cards for the next three years or conduct online transactions in the next five years, the report said. These rules apply to all blacklisted accounts and are not limited to cryptocurrency accounts. Reportedly, this has to lead to many crypto OTC dealers shutting down their business in fear of repercussions.

The PBoC is all set to issue digital yuan.

The People’s Bank of China is all set to issue a national digital currency to the general public. Dubbed as DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment), would be the first major central bank-digital currency. Several economists and crypto experts have claimed that the Chinese digital yuan could threaten the US Dollar’s global dominance in the future. In an article published on the weekend in China Finance, a magazine run by the PBoC, the central bank said China needs to break the U.S. dollar dominance and internationalize the national currency.

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