PBoC launches spot checks on major bitcoin exchanges

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Wednesday that it has launched spot checks on major bitcoin exchanges in Beijing and Shanghai, including BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin. The central bank said the reason behind the move was to rule out possible violations, including market manipulation, money laundering and unauthorized financing.

"The checks focused on whether the firm was operating out of its business scope, whether it was launching unauthorized financing, payment, forex business or other related businesses, whether it was involved in market manipulation, anti-money laundering or (carried) fund security risks," PBOC said.

Authorities in China have been ramping up efforts to stop capital outflows and relieve pressure on the yuan to depreciate. Aggressive efforts were seen in the opening days of the new year to steady the currency to quash speculation that it was on a one-way depreciation trend. CNY has lost more than 6.5 percent against the U.S. dollar last year.

Today's move has majorly impacted price of the cryptocurrency which slumped by more than 6 percent. China’s yuan was however, little changed against the US dollar as traders and investors awaited a news conference by US President-elect Donald Trump later in the day for clues on his policies on spending, global trade and currencies.