WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The People's Bank of China, the central bank in China, Monday announced that initial coin offerings are illegal. The bank asked all ongoing offerings to be halted immediately.
The bank said it has completed investigations into ICOs and will strictly punish offerings in the future as well as penalize legal violations in ones already completed.
The bank defined initial coin offerings as an unauthorized fundraising tool that may involve financial scams, according to Chinese local new outlet Caixin. A list of 60 major ICO platforms has been noted for local financial regulatory bodies to inspect.
Organizations and individuals that have raised funds through ICOs have been asked to refund the raised amount, to protect the interests of investors and properly deal with risks.
Bitcoin's price fell over 5 percent on Monday to about $4,376.42, according to Coindesk data.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX