The People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”) announced this morning that it is banning crypto currencies and related services, including “trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies are strictly prohibited.”

CNBC and other outlets reported that the ban also extends to overseas exchanges serving Chinese residents: “’Overseas virtual currency exchanges that use the internet to offer services to domestic residents is also considered illegal financial activity,” the PBOC said, according to a CNBC translation of the comments.” CNBC (9/24/2021)

The move comes even as the PBOC announced earlier in the week that its own non-blockchain digital Yuan is on track for a launch in time for the Winter Olympics there.

Earlier this week, U.S. securities, banking, and anti-money-laundering regulators announced they would be stepping up their own regulatory efforts.

CoinDesk report (9/24/2021) is here.