The ban on all promotional cryptocurrency-related events in China has now moved beyond the Capital.

The Financial Development Bureau of the Guangzhou Development District, a special economic zone in southern China, has banned all crypto-related events in the district according to a report by NBD, a Chinese news outlet.

We translated the executive summary of the report on Google Translate and it reads as follows:

Today (August 29), the “Daily Economic News” reporter confirmed from the Financial Development Bureau of the Guangzhou Development Zone that the bureau recently issued a notice to the Economic Development and Information Technology Bureau of the Guangzhou Development Zone to prohibit the hosting of virtual currency promotion activities.

First Beijing, now Guangzhou

Guangzhou has followed the footsteps of Beijing, as the cryptocurrency onslaught in the country continues. The Guangzhou district is known as a tech hub and for its less restrictive laws, which have allowed businesses to thrive in the region.

Local media outlets reported that the district’s Financial Development Bureau issued a notice on Friday, August 24 which prohibited all cryptocurrency events in the region. The notice comes just days after Beijing’s Chaoyang district issued a similar ban.

According to NBD, via Google Translate:

[…] all relevant units in the district may not undertake any form of virtual currency promotion and publicity activities. If you are aware of the relevant situation, please submit it to the District Economic and Information Technology Bureau and the District Financial Work Bureau in time.

The order warned office buildings, hotels and shopping malls in the central district of China’s capital against hosting any events promoting cryptocurrencies.

Concerning the ban, Guangzhou cited similar reasons to that offered in Beijing. Authorities stated that the aim of the ban is to strengthen the position of the Chinese yuan as the legal currency in China and to stabilize the country’s financial system.

Directly from the NBD.com.cn report, via Google Translate:

“The notice said that in order to protect the property rights and interests of the public, safeguard the legal currency status of the renminbi, prevent the risk of money laundering, and maintain the security and stability of the financial system”

China increasingly tough on crypto

Regulators and firms in the country have increased their effort to eliminate cryptocurrency activities in the country. Some prominent authorities in the country released a joint public notice on Friday, blasting ICOs.

Regulators warned the general public that operators using words like “financial innovation” or “blockchain” to gain investments are carrying out fraud and pyramid schemes.

WeChat crypto accounts get shutdown

Last week, Tencent’s WeChat announced that it has a number of high-profile crypto and blockchain-related accounts. Tencent further issued a statement banning all crypto trading activities on its platform, including WeChat Pay.

Alibaba begins a crypto ban on subsidiary Ant Financial and Alipay

China’s largest e-commerce firm, Alibaba issued a similar crypto ban via its subsidiary Ant Financial. The payment company announced that it has also banned Alipay accounts that engage in cryptocurrency trading.

Baidu begins to censor crypto-related content

China’s search engine giant, Baidu also revealed that it is making moves to block cryptocurrency-related content on its online forums. The firm is looking to ban forum topics that discuss crypto-related activities on Baidu Tieba, the firm’s Reddit-like online platform.

Crypto exchanges like Binance have been fleeing China

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) banned cryptocurrency trading and ICOs in the country last year. The ban led to most of the local exchanges relocating to neighboring countries like Singapore and Thailand due to their less restrictive regulations.

The PBoC hailed the country’s crypto ban a huge success as recent data indicated that the Chinese Yuan is currently being used in less than 1% of crypto-trades, down from 90% of all global trades.

China blocks access to hundreds of overseas exchanges

The clampdown on cryptocurrency exchanges also continued as regulators in China blocked web access to 124 overseas cryptocurrency exchanges.

These exchanges have their services available in China despite the cryptocurrency trading ban passed by authorities last year.

Authorities in the country continue to implement clean-up measures to maintain financial order and social stability.