BTC
China halted local-currency deposits to clients’ China Merchants Bank Co.
accounts, as lenders close accounts with Bitcoin exchanges
amid government measures to check surging trading in the virtual currency.
The
suspension aims to protect security of client funds and ensure stable
operations, BTC China, the nation’s largest Bitcoin
exchange, said on its official microblog on 26 April.
Merchants Bank banned the use of its accounts for Bitcoin
transactions, according to a statement dated April 25 on the lender’s website.
The
People’s Bank of China banned financial institutions in December from handling Bitcoin transactions, reflecting concerns about the risk
posed to China’s financial stability after trading in the digital currency
surged in the nation.
Introduced
in 2008 by a programmer or group of programmers going under the name of Satoshi
Nakamoto, Bitcoin prices
more than tripled in the past year, according to CoinDesk,
which tracks prices across key exchanges.
CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index slumped about
a fifth after Caixin magazine reported March 27 that
the PBOC ordered lenders and payment companies to close the trading accounts of
more than 10 Bitcoin exchanges. Bitcoins
recently changed hands for $453.80, according to the index.
BtcTrade,
a Chinese exchange, said April 10 that an Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
sub-branch in Hangzhou will close its account by April 15 if its use for Bitcoin-related settlement services is continued. Account
closures were also announced by Huobi.com and Btc100.org.
BTC
China, set up in June 2011, has the biggest Chinese Bitcoin
trading platform, according to its website.