BEIJING, October 11 (TMTPOST)  - China’s criminal justice system is currently researching criminal sentencing guidelines for cryptocurrency trading and mining, Sina Finance reported. The authorities are exploring the legal mechanism for sentencing such new violations and will later publish relevant judicial interpretations.

Chinese regulator is no doubt strengthening its crackdown on cryptocurrency after defining it as illegal.

China’s central bank People’s Bank of China and ten government departments, including the Cyberspace Administration of China and the justice system, released the Notice on Preventing and Dealing with Risks from Cryptocurrency Trading on September 24.

The notice once again stresses that cryptocurrency trading and relevant services and activities are illegal and clarifies that it is also illegal for overseas cryptocurrency trading service providers to offer services to residents in China.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission and other ten government departments published the Notice on Regulating Cryptocurrency Mining Activities on the same day, completely banning cryptocurrency mining activities.

A number of cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Huobi Global had subsequently stopped providing service for clients in mainland China.

Around 24 cryptocurrency platforms have announced that they would stop providing service for clients in mainland China, according to statistics from Sina Finance. The other two major trading platforms (Huobi Global, OKEx, and Binance are considered as the top three trading platforms in China) have not yet made any statement on the recent development.

It is worth noting that relevant government departments have been studying the implementation of new rules and regulations since the central bank released the notice. China’s justice system is also researching on this matter and exploring the legal mechanism for sentencing cryptocurrency trading and mining-related offenses, Sina Finance reported, quoting several sources close to the regulator. It is said that the justice system will then publish relevant judicial interpretations on cryptocurrency trading and mining.