Chinese Ecozone Clamps Down on Crypto Promotional Events

Published on 30 August 2018 by Cryptovest Staff

China's cryptocurrency promotional events ban has been extended beyond Beijing.

The Guangzhou Development District, an exclusive economic zone in China's Guangzhou district, has ordered a clampdown on cryptocurrency promotional events following an earlier move by the capital Beijing, reports The Star Online.

According to the report, the ecozone – established in the 1980s as one of the first special economic zones in the country – said the crackdown was to maintain “the security and stability of the financial system” as it imposed all activities that promote digital currency within the zone.

“The moves – both restricted to the districts in question – are the latest examples of China’s intensifying crackdown on cryptocurrencies, which began last September with bans on crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings,” the South China Morning Post reported. It added, "ICOs are unregulated crowdfunding methods involving cryptocurrencies. Despite central government initiatives on adopting blockchain, the underlying technology behind these virtual currencies, Beijing has made it clear it does not want retail investors putting their money into cryptocurrencies amid fears of financial chaos.”

Guangzhou’s decision came after the central district of Chaoyang in Beijing issued a notice on August 17 informing shopping malls, hotels, and office buildings in the area not to host events related to cryptocurrency.

The notice was issued after an offshore digital currency exchange operator held an event in the capital a week earlier.

The twin moves of Beijing and Guangzhou highlighted China’s seriousness in intensifying its crackdown against virtual currencies after the communist nation banned initial coin offerings and exchanges in September last year.

However, the government is banning cryptocurrency trading while its central authority is promoting blockchain and fintech to raise consumption and adoption in the real economy.

Early this month, the Chinese National Development Commission (NDC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a joint release to unveil the nation’s Three-Year Action Plan to Expand and Upgrade Information Consumption (2018-2020) that touches on the application of information technology (IT) in the real economy.

The action plan also calls for the promotion of financial technology (fintech), blockchain algorithms, and other businesses that signaled the government’s seriousness in using blockchain and IT as a tool instead of a distinct economic sector.