Report from AFP dated 8 May 2014 :-
China's largest bank ICBC bars services for Bitcoin
An employee speaks on the phone at the headquarters of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) in Beijing in this Oct 15, 2013 photo
SHANGHAI - China's biggest bank ICBC has banned activities related to trading in Bitcoin, it said Thursday, joining at least 10 other Chinese banks participating in a government crackdown on virtual currencies.
Bitcoin, invented in the wake of the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru, is a form of cryptography-based e-money that can be stored either virtually or on a user's hard drive, and offers a largely anonymous payment system.
Speculators drove China's Bitcoin prices into the financial stratosphere last year, peaking at 7,588.88 yuan (S$1,520) in November, before they crashed following moves by exchanges, financial institutions and the government to rein in the virtual currency.
"From this date, any institution or individual must not use accounts set up with our bank for the deposit and withdrawal... and transfer of funds for Bitcoin and Litecoin trading," the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said in a statement.
China's largest bank ICBC bars services for Bitcoin
An employee speaks on the phone at the headquarters of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) in Beijing in this Oct 15, 2013 photo
SHANGHAI - China's biggest bank ICBC has banned activities related to trading in Bitcoin, it said Thursday, joining at least 10 other Chinese banks participating in a government crackdown on virtual currencies.
Bitcoin, invented in the wake of the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru, is a form of cryptography-based e-money that can be stored either virtually or on a user's hard drive, and offers a largely anonymous payment system.
Speculators drove China's Bitcoin prices into the financial stratosphere last year, peaking at 7,588.88 yuan (S$1,520) in November, before they crashed following moves by exchanges, financial institutions and the government to rein in the virtual currency.
"From this date, any institution or individual must not use accounts set up with our bank for the deposit and withdrawal... and transfer of funds for Bitcoin and Litecoin trading," the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said in a statement.
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