China Central Bank Closes Software Maker Over Alleged Cryptocurrency Trading

A Beijing office of China’s central bank has issued a shutdown order for Beijing Qudao Cultural Development Co Ltd, a local software company. According to a Reuters report, the firm was allegedly involved in cryptocurrency trading.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Beijing financial supervision administration and a department of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said that the software company “was suspected of providing software services for virtual currency transactions.”

The two regulators added that Beijing Qudao was ordered to cease all operations. The firm’s website has been suspended as well.

It’s not immediately clear whether Beijing Qudao had anything to do with trading major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ether, however, local reporter Colin Wu said that the company had been mainly operating in the entertainment industry and had its own virtual currency "Mao Li Coin", aka Cat Coin.

The PBoC's statement further stressed that institutions within their jurisdiction are prohibited from providing “business premises, commercial display, marketing, and paid diversion services for virtual currency-related business activities.”

China’s crackdown on crypto

In recent months, China's regulators have been engaged in a wider crackdown on the country's crypto industry.

As well as targeting Bitcoin mining operators—many of whom have already left the country for pastures new—Chinese regulators have also intensified pressure on businesses involved in crypto transactions.

Last month, the PBoC requested that the country’s banks and payment institutions stop providing any crypto-related services, while social media platform Weibo suspended several popular crypto-related accounts for “violation of rules and laws.”