China continues to campaign against cryptocurrencies

China continues its campaign against cryptocurrencies. Over the weekend, China's Weibo-like platform blocked a number of cryptocurrency accounts. Beijing is expected to continue taking action against the trade in and extraction of bitcoin, including a more direct link between illegal cryptoactivity and Chinese criminal law. In May, the Chinese government pledged to crack down on bitcoin trafficking and mining, and stepped up the campaign against cryptomes just days after three financial supervisors banned cryptomen financial and payment services. Over the weekend, multiple Weibo cryptomen-related accounts were blocked, with a "violation of laws and regulations" message. "It's a day of judgment for the KOL crypto," wrote a bitcoin commentator on Weibo, where KOL stands for key opinion leader. "The government has made it clear that there can be no Chinese version of Elon Musk on the Chinese cryptocurrency market," said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at New York University's School of Law. Ma also expects the Chinese Supreme Court to publish a court interpretation soon that may link the extraction of and trade in cryptocurrencies with Chinese criminal law. Similarly, one Chinese financial regulator said that a similar interpretation would resolve a legal ambiguity that has not yet identified the bitcoin trade as "illegal operations". All measures against cryptocurrencies in China have so far only been taken by the administrative authorities. The blocking of accounts by the Weibo platform comes after the Chinese media intensified criticism of the cryptomen trade.