China's central bank has ordered the country's commercial banks and payment companies to close bitcoin trading accounts in two weeks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, dealing another blow to the virtual currency.
据知情人士透露，中国央行已要求国内商业银行和第三方支付机构在两周内关闭比特币交易账户。这令比特币再遭打击。
Bitcoin prices are down roughly 8% since the new rules were first reported in financial publication Caixin last week. The rules affect more than a dozen bitcoin exchanges, and are a further tightening of regulations the central bank put in place last year. The accounts must be shut down by April 15, the people said.
财新传媒上周首次报道上述新规定以来，比特币价格下跌约8%。新规定将对十多家比特币交易机构带来影响，同时内容较中国央行去年发布的比特币相关规定进一步收紧。知情人士表示，比特币交易账户必须在4月15日前关闭。
Authorities have kept an eye on bitcoin's expansion here as it poses a potential threat to financial stability and because it has attracted swarms of speculative retail investors looking for ways to make quick profits. China imposes strict capital and currency controls, but bitcoin, in theory, offers its holders a way to bypass those rules. Chinese demand for bitcoin soared late last year, contributing to a rise in global prices and attracting the attention of regulators.
中国相关部门一直在密切关注国内比特币业务的扩张，因为该业务对金融稳定构成潜在威胁，同时吸引了大量寻求快速获得利润的投机性个人投资者。中国对资本和外汇实施严格控制，但比特币交易从理论上讲可以让持有者避开这些控制举措。去年年底中国比特币需求大幅增长，帮助推升了比特币在全球市场的价格，同时引发了监管机构的注意。
Regulators are also concerned about the safety of bitcoin exchanges following the collapse of Japan's Mt. Gox exchange after most of the bitcoins it was holding were stolen.
监管部门也对比特币交易所的安全性感到担忧，此前日本比特币交易所Mt. Gox倒闭，因该交易所持有的大量比特币被盗。
The latest move by the People's Bank of China is a huge blow to the country's bitcoin exchanges, which have found their footing in the more than three months since Chinese authorities appeared to take measures clamping down on the industry. In December, the PBOC ordered financial institutions to stop dealing with bitcoin. Later that month, it made clear that third-party payment processors could not help exchanges collect money from users.
中国央行采取的上述最新行动将令国内比特币交易所遭受沉重打击，这些交易所在中国监管部门三个多月前首次采取限制比特币行业的举措以来逐步站稳了脚跟。去年12月份，中国央行要求金融机构停止为比特币交易提供服务。当月晚些时候，中国央行又明确规定第三方支付机构不得帮助比特币交易所从客户手中收取资金。
The earlier moves left Chinese bitcoin exchanges with the ability to take direct deposits into corporate bank accounts. In the subsequent months, trading volumes and prices rebounded, as investor confidence returned, in part due to relief that the government had not ruled out bitcoin completely. Some in the bitcoin community said it was actually a positive that the government had said people are free to buy bitcoin.
在之前的这些措施出台后，比特币交易平台仍能够在公司银行账户中接收直接存款。在随后的几个月，随着投资者信心回升，比特币的交易规模和价格双双反弹，而令投资者感到欣慰的部分原因是政府并未完全取缔比特币。一些比特币业内人士称，政府已表示人们可以自由购买比特币，这确实是个积极迹象。
Making it clear that domestic banks cannot provide clearing, account opening and other services for bitcoin exchanges, however, leaves exchanges with significantly less room to maneuver.
然而，在监管部门明确表示国内银行不得为比特币交易平台提供结算、开户及其他服务之后，比特币交易平台的活动空间明显缩小。
'There will definitely be a negative impact to the exchanges,' said Bobby Lee, chief executive of Shanghai-based BTC China, the most prominent Chinese exchange name abroad, having risen to briefly be the global leader by trading volume late last year. The latest move is a 'stricter interpretation of the written rules' from the December statement, he added.
总部设在上海的比特币中国(BTC China)首席执行长李启元(Bobby Lee)表示，比特币交易平台肯定会受到负面影响。他还说，最新出台的措施是对去年12月份相关通知中书面条例的更严格解读。比特币中国是在海外最知名的中国比特币交易平台，去年末交易规模一度位居全球前列。
The exchange, he said, thought the December statement was 'pretty relaxed' by comparison.
李启元说，比特币中国认为，相比之下，去年12月份发布的相关通知已“相当宽松”。
One of the people familiar with the latest directive said that the central bank does not intend to ban bitcoin trading in China, and said the move is to 'enforce what was already said in the December document.' That document had said bitcoin is not a currency with 'real meaning' and does not have the same legal status as a currency, but that the public is free to buy and sell bitcoin online provided that they accept the risk.
这些了解最新政策的知情人士中有一位表示，中国央行并不想禁止国内的比特币交易。该人士还说，此举是为了落实去年12月份相关通知中的内容。去年12月份发出的这份通知称，比特币并不是真正意义的货币，不具有与货币等同的法律地位，但普通民众在自担风险的前提下拥有参与比特币买卖的自由。
BTC China and two other major bitcoin exchanges in China--OKCoin and Huobi--have all said they haven't gotten any official notice of a change from the central bank nor the banks that they have accounts with. A spokesman with BTC China said that the firm is trying to get clarity from the banks.
比特币中国和另外两个中国比特币交易平台――OKCoin和火币网(Huobi)都表示，他们没有从央行或开户行接到正式通知。比特币中国发言人说，该公司正试图获得银行方面的明确消息。
The three exchanges also said they haven't seen significant changes to their deposits yet, and that trading volumes have jumped in the last week due to bitcoin price volatility from the news.
这三个交易平台还表示，他们的存款还没有出现重大变化，而由于相关消息引起比特币价格波动，上周成交量大幅攀升。
OKCoin CEO Xu Mingxing said that if Chinese exchanges can't accept money into corporate accounts, they would likely have to incorporate themselves abroad and also move their servers overseas. BTC China's Mr. Lee said one option would be for customers to use cash to make deposits directly with BTC China.
OKCoin首席执行长徐明星说，如果中国比特币交易平台的公司账号无法存入现金，他们可能将不得不去国外注册，把服务器也移到海外。比特币中国的李启元表示，一个选择是让客户可以直接在比特币中国存入现金。
It 'comes down to how it's going to be enforced...we're going to try different things,' said Mr. Lee.
李启元称，问题是如何实施......公司准备尝试多种办法。
Left on their own, bitcoin exchanges have thrived in China, given strong local demand in a country that doesn't offer many investment outlets. Exchanges here also don't need special licenses to operate, compared with other parts of the world, such as the U.S., where exchanges need licenses as money-transfer businesses.
由于中国投资途径有限，而国内的比特币交易需求很大，因此未受监管的比特币交易平台在国内出现繁荣发展。中国的比特币交易平台也不需要专门特别的营运牌照，而在美国等世界其他国家，比特币交易平台要有转账业务牌照。
Shanghai bitcoin consultancy Kapronasia estimates that there are roughly two dozen exchanges operating in China looking to benefit from strong local demand in a country with tight currency and capital controls.
上海比特币顾问公司Kapronasia 估计，目前大约有二十多个交易平台在中国运营，希望在中国这个严格控制汇率和资本的国家从强劲的本地需求中获益。