Crypto-transactions declared illegal by China's central bank

Several Chinese government agencies have declared all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal, with foreign exchanges banned from providing services to Chinese residents. 

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), together with banking and foreign exchange regulators, issued a joint statement on Friday vowing to work together to root out "illegal" crypto mining activity, in turn banning crypto mining nationwide.

A blow to bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, the central bank stated that services offering trading, token issuance, order matching and derivatives for virtual currencies will be strictly prohibited. 

Overseas crypto exchanges providing services in mainland China will also be considered illegal.

China's State Council vowed in May to clamp down on bitcoin mining and virtual currency speculation, sparking a major sell-off of cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin, the world's leading digital asset in terms of market capitalisation, has since plumeted by over 5%. Other leading cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Dogecoin, fell by over 8% and 7% respectively.