Taken a knock
According to China the bitcoin is not a currency of “real meaning” and has moved to ban financial insitutions from handling bitcoin transactions. The currency has been subject to unstable changes in value over the past few months.
Chinese consumers are free to participate in bitcoin tranactions at their own discretion. However due to no affiliation with monetary authorities it cannot be given the status of ‘currency’. This is according to a statement by The People’s Bank of China.
“The concern is that it interferes with normal monetary policy operation,” Hao Hong, head of China research at Hong Kong’s Bocom International Holdings, said, according to the source. “It represents an unofficial leakage to the current monetary system and trades globally. It is difficult to regulate and could be used for money laundering.”
Bitcoin fell to a low of USD870 per BTC on the news, down from a high of USD1,240 on popular Japan-based exchange Mt. Gox. At press time, the currency was valued at USD986 on the exchange.
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