PBoC's head come down on digital money, all cryptocurrencies take a nose dive

The head of the Chinese central bank condemned speculative nature of cryptocurrencies at a press conference during China's annual political event known as Two Sessions.  

"Lots of cryptocurrencies have seen explosive growth which can bring significant negative impact on consumers and retail investors. We don't like (cryptocurrency) products that make huge opportunity for speculation that gives people the illusion of getting rich overnight" - Zhou Xiaochuan commented.

This is another sign of global regulatory clampdown on the cryptocurrency industry, that may signal that the Chinese central bank is preparing new restrictive measures over ICOs and virtual assets trading services available for Chinese residents.

At the same time, PBoC seems to be optimistic about blockchain technology that has great potential outside virtual money realm.
"For blockchain projects with technological potentials, they should conduct thorough testing before rolling out services. Otherwise, a reckless expansion may incur serious security and financial stability issues," Zhou said.

This position chimes with the views of the regulators from other countries. Thus, Mark Carney from the Bank of England dismissed cryptocurrencies as a failed project but supported blockchain development.

Meanwhile, all major cryptocurrencies are deep in red, with Bitcoin trading well below $9,000, down nearly 7% on the day; Ethereum has lost 5% so far to trade at $670, while Litecoin is at $166.00, with 6% loss on the day.