On September 4, 2017, the People’s Bank of China (中国人民银行), Cyberspace Administration of China (国家互联网信息办公室), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (工业和信息化部) (“MIIT”), State Administration for Industry and Commerce (国家工商总局) (“SAIC”), China Banking Regulatory Commission (银监会), China Securities Regulatory Commission (证监会) and China Insurance Regulatory Commission (保监会) jointly published the Announcement to Prevent the Risk of Initial Coin Offerings (关于防范代币发行融资风险的公告) (the “Cryptocurrency Rules”). The Cryptocurrency Rules impose a ban on the practice of raising funds from the public through the issuance of new cryptocurrencies (“Initial Coin Offerings” or “ICOs”), and also essentially shuts down the main business of cryptocurrency trading platforms in China.
