China central bank to keep up spot checks on bitcoin exchanges

A Bitcoin logo is displayed at the Bitcoin Center New York City in New York's financial district

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s central bank will continue to conduct spot investigations on bitcoin exchanges, its Beijing head office said on Wednesday, in a statement on its website.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) this month launched spot checks on BTCC, Huobi and OkCoin, to identify a range of possible rule violations, as the government steps up efforts to stem capital outflows and relieve pressure on the yuan currency.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)