中國比特幣交易平臺停止與第三方支付合作

Prices of the virtual currency bitcoin fell as much as 38% Wednesday and are now down More than 50% from the record high hit two weeks ago amid worries that China is moving to block the purchase and use of the currency by its citizens.

虛擬貨幣比特幣的價格週三跌幅一度高達38%，目前已經較兩週前觸及的紀錄高點回落了逾50%，因市場擔憂中國將阻止居民購買和使用比特幣。

China has emerged as a big driver of the bitcoin market in recent months as enthusiasm for the currency helped send prices soaring more than tenfold in the fall. In recent weeks, prices have tumbled after China's central bank issued a warning about the risks of bitcoin and said financial institutions shouldn't do business with bitcoin-related companies.

近幾個月來，隨着中國市場對比特幣的狂熱需求推動比特幣價格在秋季上漲逾10倍，中國已成爲比特幣市場的一大驅動力。近幾周，比特幣轉而大幅下跌，因爲此前中國央行對比特幣風險發出警告，並表示，中國金融機構不得開展與比特幣相關的業務。

On Wednesday, the world's largest bitcoin exchange stopped allowing customers to use yuan to buy bitcoin. Shanghai-based BTC China 'has no choice but to stop accepting yuan deposits, ' the exchange said in a post on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblogging website.

週三，全球最大的比特幣交易平臺、總部設在上海的比特幣中國(BTC China)停止允許客戶使用人民幣購買比特幣。比特幣中國在新浪微博(Weibo)上說，不得不暫時停止人民幣充值功能。

'Bitcoin deposits, bitcoin withdrawals and yuan withdrawals will not be affected, ' it added. The exchange said it 'will try to provide another method for deposits' but didn't elaborate. The move means a big source of new cash driving up prices of bitcoin has been eliminated. Exchanges are an important component of bitcoin's ecosystem. Coins can be bought and exchanged privately but most retail investors use the exchanges.

比特幣中國表示，比特幣充值、比特幣提現和人民幣提現不受影響。該公司還表示，會盡快提供其他的充值途徑，但沒有就此詳述。此舉意味着，推升比特幣價格的一大新資金來源已經被切斷。

'My understanding' is that the People's Bank of China told third-party payment companies on Monday they can't work any longer with exchanges, BTC China CEO Bobby Lee said on Wednesday. These payment companies are often used for e-commerce in China and are the easiest way for individuals to transfer money from their bank accounts for web purchases.

比特幣中國首席執行長李啓元(Bobby Lee)週三表示，他的理解是中國央行週一告知第三方支付公司，不能與比特幣交易平臺進行合作。在中國，這些支付公司通常被用於進行電子商務活動，並且是個人將銀行賬戶資金用於網絡購物的最便捷方式。

While the central bank hasn't released an official statement, a person familiar with the matter said that a meeting between the bank and several third-party payment providers took place on Monday. The person said officials suggested that third-party payment providers cease their bitcoin involvement by the end of January though no official date was set.

儘管中國央行尚未發佈一份官方聲明，但一位知情人士稱，週一央行與幾家第三方支付公司召開了會議。這位知情人士說，官員們暗示第三方支付機構要在明年1月底以前終止比特幣相關業務，但未確定正式日期。

The central bank didn't respond to requests for comment.

中國央行未回覆記者尋求置評的請求。

The person added that the central bank sees its latest stance toward third-party payment providers as a reiteration of an earlier statement that neither financial institutions nor payment institutions should partake in bitcoin-related businesses. The growing popularity of bitcoin is a threat to China's strict capital controls because it allows citizens to trade yuan for bitcoin and then sell the bitcoin overseas for foreign currency.

這位知情人士稱，央行將針對第三方支付公司的立場視爲對此前發佈的聲明的重申，即金融機構和支付機構都不應開展比特幣相關業務。日益受到追捧的比特幣對中國嚴格的資本管制構成威脅，因爲它使人們能夠用人民幣購買比特幣，然後通過在海外出售比特幣而獲得外幣。

BTC China learned about the PBOC's latest stance from third-party payment platforms only and not the PBOC, added Mr. Lee. On Sunday, TenPay, the third-party payment unit of Chinese Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. , stopped working with BTC China. The exchange switched to Yeepay, another provider, but has now stopped working with Yeepay as well, Mr. Lee said.

李啓元還表示，比特幣中國是從第三方支付公司而非央行了解到央行的最新立場的。週日中國互聯網巨頭騰訊控股有限公司(Tencent Holdings Ltd.)旗下的第三方支付機構財付通(TenPay)停止與比特幣中國的合作。李啓元稱，比特幣中國隨後轉向另一家第三方支付公司易寶(Yeepay)，但目前也已經停止與易寶的合作。

Beijing-based bitcoin exchange OKCoin issued a similar statement on its website, saying that it would no longer work with third-party payment-service providers. Users of the site will be able to withdraw their funds within 24 hours, it added. OKCoin didn't respond to emailed requests to comment.

總部設在北京的比特幣交易平臺OKCoin在其網站上發佈類似聲明稱，將不再與第三方支付公司合作。OKCoin還表示，如果客戶發起提現，將在24小時內予以匯款。

Worries China wants to clamp down on the bitcoin industry stemmed from local media reports earlier in the week on the central bank's warning Mondayto third-party payment processors. Since the start of the week, international bitcoin prices are down about 37%, according to industry tracker CoinDesk, which incorporates prices from several large bitcoin exchanges around the world. On Wednesday night in Asia, bitcoin prices were down 19% from Tuesday's close to $556.48, for a decline of more than 50% from its high of $1, 147.25 two weeks ago.

本週早些時候本地媒體報道央行週一向第三方支付機構發出警告的消息後，外界擔心中國可能打算壓制比特幣行業。據行業追蹤機構CoinDesk稱，自本週初以來，國際比特幣價格已經下跌約37%。CoinDesk基於全球幾家大型比特幣交易平臺的價格編制比特幣價格指數。週三晚間在亞洲，比特幣價格較週二下跌19%，至556.48美元，較兩週前的高點1,147.25美元回落了逾50%。