China Central Bank Warns Banks Against Use Of Bitcoin
The central bank also said in a statement on its website that it would act to prevent money laundering risks from bitcoin, a prominent digital currency that is not backed by a government or central bank.
Bitcoins, and other computer-generated virtual currencies like it, have seen their relative values rise to historic highs in recent months as speculators have piled into the currency.
While there is no official data available, bitcoin market operators say Chinese nationals are major participants in the market and hold an outsized share of the total number of bitcoins in circulation.
As such they have been heavily covered in domestic media, including a special broadcast on state-run television earlier in 2013.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) may have cause to be concerned about bitcoins, which are anonymous, untraceable, and can be carried on memory sticks or transmitted electronically, because they represent a potential hole in the country's closed capital account.