China Discovers Multiple Illegal Crypto Activities

The authorities in China discovers multiple illegal underground crypto exchange activities despite the ban.

Recent events in China indicate that people are using cryptocurrencies even though the government has outright banned them. The Chinese police discovered after several raids that billions of dollars worth of unlawful transactions were made using cryptocurrencies.

According to a Bloomberg article, Chinese police found an underground bank connected to illicit transfers of 13.8 billion yuan, or $1.9 billion, in May. They discovered a group involved in several illegal money exchanges totaling more than 1 billion yuan and the improper conversion of almost 2 billion yuan.

These findings indicate a sizable Chinese trading community actively engaged in cryptocurrency. Moreover, the authorities found the suspects near Chengdu City in the southwest, Beijing, and the northeastern province of Jilin. This suggests that the practice may be shared throughout the entire nation.

It is important to remember that the Chinese government has prohibited cryptocurrency transactions inside its borders for the past two years. The government banned cryptocurrencies, citing concerns about money laundering, currency outflows, and environmental damage from energy-intensive Bitcoin mining.

There is a perception, meanwhile, that Chinese nationals continue to work with digital assets. Some people use cryptocurrency to get around restrictions on international transfers, while many others use it as a substitute investment in the face of declining real estate values.

The head of Chainalysis Inc.’s APAC policy, Chengyi Ong, stated that there is still a lot of cryptocurrency activity in China. Ong speculates that this might result from the ban’s lax enforcement. However, he conceded that peer-to-peer and decentralized aspects of cryptocurrency activity might be necessary.

In the 12 months ending in June 2023, around $86 billion worth of cryptocurrency entered China, according to Chainalysis. Though far lower than before the prohibition, the blockchain company still recognized the volume as noteworthy.

Is China’s Cryptocurrency Crackdown Failing? The post Exposed: Billions in Illegal Transactions initially appeared on Coin Edition.