Chinese authorities are moving toward a broad clampdown on Bitcoin (Bitcoin) trading, it appears P2P and OTC trading may be targeted next, Bitcoin.com reports.
It has been recently reported that Chinese financial regulators will likely impose a nationwide ban on over-the-counter (OTC) and peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platforms in the upcoming weeks.
Moreover, it has been sources close to the matter mentioned that strict regulations on exchanges may extend to mining operators such as Bitmain.
Whether Chinese authorities will simply declare the trading of bitcoin through any means illegal or blacklist the domains of OTC markets and P2P trading platforms remains unclear.
Earlier this month China’s central bank the People’s Bank of China proclaimed initial coin offerings (ICOs) illegal and demanded all related fundraising activity to be halted immediately.
Chinese Bitcoin exchanges were ordered to stop all trading from September 30.
Additionally, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) Jamie Dimon said that Bitcoin was 'a fraud' and it would blow up. Speaking at a bank investor conference in New York, Dimon added: “The currency isn’t going to work. You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart.”