The People’s Bank of China (PBC) has released a new regulation against Bitcoin transaction services, meaning that exchanges such as BTC China must stop taking customer deposits in yuan.
In March, the country’s central bank demanded that existing accounts for Bitcoin transactions be cleared by 15 April.
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Provider Alipay quickly made its position clear by stating that it would not provide value-added and cash withdrawal services for virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.
However, other platforms have been functioning as usual, with almost 20 organisations enabling services in digital currencies.
China Merchants Bank, one of the country’s biggest banks, stated that it would stop handling Bitcoin-related transactions "to protect public interests and safeguard the legal status of the yuan to prevent money laundering."
This new regulation follows a statement by the PBC in December 2013, banning financial institutions in China from dealing with Bitcoin.
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