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BTC dumps after Agricultural Bank of China issues, deletes, and reissues Bitcoin ban notice BTC dumps after Agricultural Bank of China issues, deletes, and reissues Bitcoin ban notice
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BTC dumps after Agricultural Bank of China issues, deletes, and reissues Bitcoin ban notice

The People's Bank of China issued a statement saying domestic banks and the payment platform Alipay were ordered not to provide services linked to crypto.

BTC dumps after Agricultural Bank of China issues, deletes, and reissues Bitcoin ban notice

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

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The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) published a Bitcoin (BTC) ban announcement, restating its services must not be used for cryptocurrency-related transactions and activities, only to delete it within minutes, pause for a few hours, and then publish the ban all over again.

ABC is one of the “Big Four” banks in the country, state-controlled and owned by the government’s investment company Central Huijin (40.42%), Ministry of Finance (39.21%), National Social Security Fund (3.02%), and China Securities Finance (1.92%).

Ping-pong 

The bank issued a statement that they will not participate in cryptocurrency transactions and related activities, saying that “customer accounts participating in such activities will be closed and customer relationships will be terminated.”

The announcement was deleted only minutes after but still the early Monday news went out and according to the Bitcoin (BTC) price drop of 10%, it didn’t do it any favors.

A few hours later, a statement prohibiting the use of their services for Bitcoin and other crypto transactions was again made public by the bank. “In accordance with the recent consultation and guidance requirements of relevant departments of the People’s Bank of China, our bank will continue to carry out the crackdown on virtual currency transactions,” it stated.

The ban’s origin

The bouncing ABC notice received its final context as the People’s Bank of China (PBC) issued a statement saying domestic banks and the payment platform Alipay were summoned by the central bank authorities and ordered not to provide services linked to the trading of cryptocurrencies.

Besides prohibiting them from providing crypto-related products and services, the institutions were ordered to revoke payment channels for crypto exchanges and over-the-counter platforms.

PBC blamed cryptocurrencies for disrupting the normal order of financial activity and providing room for illegal cross-border transactions.

Along with prohibiting “crypto-related activities” the interviewed lenders were instructed to “thoroughly inspect and monitor” their clients’ transactions for potential crypto involvement.

The announcements and re-announcements appeared on Monday after a ceasefire during the weekend which witnessed a Bitcoin hashrate plunge following Friday’s mining ban in the province of Sichuan. 

Bitcoin Market Data

At the time of press 5:34 pm UTC on Jun. 21, 2021, Bitcoin is ranked #1 by market cap and the price is down 5.98% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $610.28 billion with a 24-hour trading volume of $48.69 billion. Learn more about Bitcoin ›

Bitcoin

5:34 pm UTC on Jun. 21, 2021

$32,565.81

-5.98%
Crypto Market Summary

At the time of press 5:34 pm UTC on Jun. 21, 2021, the total crypto market is valued at at $1.34 trillion with a 24-hour volume of $113.9 billion. Bitcoin dominance is currently at 45.56%. Learn more about the crypto market ›