China Central Bank Warns of Cryptocurrency, ICO Risks in Public Notice

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the country’s central bank, has issued a public notice urging investors of risks in cryptocurrency trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The Shanghai branch of the PBoC issued a public notice on Tuesday to “remind” consumers and investors to increase their risk awareness of ICOs – a radical form of fundraising powered by cryptocurrencies, urging investors to avoid speculative trading in cryptocurrencies and steer away from overseas operators issuing ICOs.

It’s been a year since the PBoC issued a blanket ban on all ICOs, outlawing it as an illegal practice of fundraising.

In its notice today, the central bank heralded the ban as a success, stating:

“[T]he global share of domestic virtual currency transactions has dropped from the initial 90% to less than 5%, effectively avoiding the virtual currency bubble caused by skyrocketing global virtual currency prices in the second half of last year in China’s financial market….