Notice on risk warning of virtual currency
1. The price fluctuates violently and the consumer protection is lacking:
virtual currency is the proct of network, and the digital information flowing in the network is beyond the control of all people. The code of cyberspace is the basis of the operation of virtual currency, investors can only operate through the front-end interface, seemingly "control" the virtual currency. The operator of the virtual currency service organization may become the actual controller of the virtual currency through the control code<
2. Avoiding supervision and becoming the "accomplice" of criminal activities
virtual currency transaction is not protected by law:
virtual currency transaction is not illegal, and it is not illegal to invest in virtual currency. But how to get involved in virtual currency transactions is illegal and illegal. It may be suspected of illegal fund-raising.
1、 (1) the virtual currency of online games mentioned in this Notice refers to the virtual currency issued by online game operators, which is purchased directly or indirectly by game users using legal tender in a certain proportion, and exists outside the game program and stored in the server provided by online game operators in the form of electromagnetic recording, And a virtual exchange tool expressed in specific digital units. Online game virtual currency is used to exchange the online game services provided by the issuing enterprise within a specified scope and within a specified time. It is expressed in the form of prepaid recharge card, prepaid amount or points, but does not include the game props obtained in the game activities
(2) cultural administrative departments should strictly enforce market access and strengthen the management of online game virtual currency issuers and online game virtual currency trading service providers. Those engaged in the business of "online game virtual currency issuing service" and "online game virtual currency trading service" shall be managed in accordance with the "decision of the State Council on Setting Administrative License for administrative examination and approval items that really need to be retained" (Order No. 412 of the State Council) and the "Interim Provisions on the administration of Internet culture". All enterprises providing the above two services must meet the relevant conditions for the establishment of operational Internet cultural units, apply to the provincial cultural administrative department where the enterprises are located, and report to the Ministry of culture for examination and approval after the initial examination by the provincial cultural administrative department“ Online game virtual currency issuing enterprises refer to online game operation enterprises that issue and provide virtual currency service“ "Online game virtual currency transaction service enterprise" refers to the enterprise that provides platform service for online game virtual currency transaction among users. The same enterprise shall not operate the above two businesses at the same time
(3) in addition to submitting relevant materials in accordance with the law, enterprises applying to engage in the business of "online game virtual currency issuance service" must submit the form of virtual currency expression, scope of issuance, unit purchase price, return method at the time of service termination, user purchase method (including cash, bank card, online payment, etc.) in the business development report User rights protection measures, technical security measures, etc< (4) engaging in the business of "online game virtual currency trading service" must comply with the relevant provisions of the competent department of Commerce on e-commerce (platform) services. In addition to the materials submitted in accordance with the law, such enterprises should submit the service (platform) mode, user purchase method (including cash, bank card, online payment and other purchase methods), user rights protection measures, user account binding with real name bank account, technical security measures, etc. in the business development report< (5) enterprises that have engaged in online game virtual currency issuing or trading services shall apply to the cultural administration department for relevant business operations within three months from the date of printing and distributing this circular. Those who fail to apply within the time limit shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department in accordance with the Interim Provisions on the administration of Internet culture. A of the approval document from the cultural administration department shall be sent to the Ministry of Commerce and the people's Bank of China< (6) online game operators should issue appropriate amount of online game virtual currency according to their own business conditions and proct operations. Malicious issuance for the purpose of occupying prepaid funds is strictly prohibited. The total amount of virtual currency issued by online game operation enterprises shall be submitted to the provincial cultural administrative department of the place where the enterprise is located on a quarterly basis
(7) except for legal currency purchase, online game operators shall not provide online game virtual currency to users in any other way. When issuing online game virtual currency, online game operators must keep users' recharge records. The storage period of the record shall not be less than 180 days from the date of user recharge< (8) the use of online game virtual currency is limited to the virtual services provided by the issuing enterprise itself, and shall not be used to pay for or purchase physical procts or exchange for any procts or services of other enterprises< (9) online game operators should take necessary measures and complaint handling proceres to protect the legitimate rights and interests of users, and explain them in a prominent position on the website where the enterprise provides services to users
(x) in case of disputes in the use of virtual currency in online games, the user shall present a valid personal identity card consistent with the registered identity information. After verifying the identity of users, online game operators should provide virtual currency recharge and transfer records, and handle them according to the complaint handling proceres. When the legitimate rights and interests of users are infringed, online game operators should actively assist in obtaining evidence and coordinating solutions< (11) if an online game operator plans to terminate the provision of its procts and services, it shall make an announcement 60 days in advance. When the service is terminated, for the virtual currency that the user has purchased but has not used, the online game operator must return it to the user in legal currency or other ways accepted by the user
if the online game service is interrupted continuously for 30 days e to the stop of service access, technical failure and other reasons of the online game operation enterprise, it shall be deemed to be terminated
(12) online game operation enterprises shall not change the unit purchase price of online game virtual currency. When new types of virtual currency are issued, they shall report to the cultural administration department for record according to the materials listed in Article 3 of this circular
(XIII) if online game operators do not support online game virtual currency transactions, they should take technical measures to prohibit the transfer function of online game virtual currency between user accounts
(14) when providing online game virtual currency related transaction services, online game virtual currency transaction service enterprises must require sellers to register with their real names by using valid identity documents, and require them to bind domestic bank accounts consistent with the real name registration information. Online game virtual currency transaction service enterprises must keep relevant transaction records and accounting records among users, and the retention period shall not be less than 180 days from the date of transaction< (15) online game virtual currency trading service enterprises should establish accountability system and technical measures for illegal transactions, strictly screen the authenticity of trading information, and prohibit illegal transactions. Knowing that the virtual currency of online games is illegally obtained or reported and verified, the false transaction information should be deleted and the transaction service should be terminated in time< (16) online game virtual currency trading service enterprises shall not provide trading services for minors
(17) online game virtual currency issuing enterprises and transaction service enterprises should actively take measures to protect personal information security. When relevant departments investigate according to law, they must actively cooperate and provide relevant records
(18) if online game operators provide virtual currency transfer services between users, they should take technical measures to keep the transfer records, and the relevant records should be kept for no less than 180 days< (19) all localities should cooperate with the public security organs to strictly punish online games with gambling color in accordance with the requirements of the notice on regulating the operation order of online games and banning gambling with online games (GTZ [2007] No. 3) issued by the Ministry of public security, the Ministry of culture and other departments, We will severely crack down on the illegal and criminal activities of gambling by using the virtual currency of online games
(20) online game operators are not allowed to allocate game props or virtual currency by drawing lots, betting, random selection and other accidental means on the premise that users directly invest cash or virtual currency
(21) online game virtual currency issuing and trading service enterprises should actively cooperate with the management department and take technical measures to crack down on "number theft", "private service" and "plug-in"
(22) the Ministry of culture shall notify the people's Bank of China of online payment services provided on the "private service" and "plug-in" websites of online games recognized by the Ministry of culture< (23) the cultural administrative departments at or above the provincial level shall investigate and deal with the enterprises that engage in the issuance and trading services of online game virtual currency without permission in accordance with the Interim Provisions on the administration of Internet culture
(24) for the online game virtual currency issuing and trading service enterprises that violate the requirements of this circular, the cultural administrative department and the competent commercial department shall notify them to rectify within a time limit. Those who fail to rectify within the time limit shall be investigated and dealt with by relevant departments according to law
(25) establish a coordination mechanism for the management of virtual currency in online games, and intensify the crackdown on illegal activities such as "number theft", "private service", "plug-in", illegal profits, money laundering, etc. All departments should regularly communicate, coordinate and cooperate with each other, timely report the relevant situation, and do a good job in the management of online game virtual currency within their respective responsibilities
(26) the online game virtual currency issued by the online game operation enterprise shall not coincide with the name of the props in the game. The administrative provisions for props in online games shall be formulated separately by the cultural administrative department of the State Council in conjunction with relevant departments
notice is hereby given<
Ministry of culture
Ministry of Commerce
June 4, 2009
1、 Common analysis of virtual currency (1) bitcoin solution is designed and created by Japanese programmer Nakamoto (alias) in 2009, and it is the most successful and controversial network currency at present. Bitcoin scheme is based on P2P network architecture, which has been operating in the world, and can be used for all kinds of virtual and real goods and services transactions
In theory, if the existence of network currency affects the demand for the central bank's liabilities, and then interferes with the central bank's open market operation, it will have an impact on a country's monetary policy and price stability. However, from a practical point of view, the premise of network currency affecting price stability includes the following three aspects:(1) from the analysis of the impact on the amount of money, although it is difficult to analyze the extent to which the network currency scheme creates money in the case of lack of information
However,however, most Internet money systems operate in prepaid mode, that is, issuing Internet money when the real money is exchanged in and withdrawing money when the real money is exchanged out. In the famous network currency scheme, the supply of money is stable and the supply is small, but we still need to be vigilant whether it can ensure that the money supply will maintain a stable level in the long run, and the impact of the change of exchange rate between network currency and real currency
(2) from the analysis of the impact on the speed of money circulation, the use of cash and money statistics, the impact of the technological innovation brought by the network currency scheme on the speed of money circulation is not clear
as an Internet instry, it largely depends on the number of active internet currency scheme users. If the network currency is widely accepted, it will have a substitution effect on the real currency of the central bank, thus recing the use of cash in transactions
in this case, the scale of the central bank's balance sheet will be reced, and its ability to influence short-term interest rates will also be weakened. The central bank will need to fight against risks through ways such as setting minimum reserves for cyber currencies. Substitution effect will aggravate the difficulty of monetary statistics and affect the relationship between monetary statistics and inflation, which is not concive to the realization of long-term price stability. In addition, the issuance of network currency outside the central bank and the expansion of virtual credit will have an impact on the central bank's interest rate decision in the economy and weaken the central bank's monetary control
(3) from the analysis of the interaction between network currency and real economy, network currency can act as a real commodity trading medium and have an impact on real GDP
The influence of network money on real money supply depends on two aspects: one is the substitution effect of virtual economy on real economy; the other is the substitution effect of virtual economy on real economy; The second is the crowding out effect of Internet money on real money, that is, with the increase of the total amount of Internet money, the amount of cash held by the public in real life decreases, resulting in the decrease of cash / deposit ratio and the increase of money multiplier. In reality, the network virtual currency scheme will not affect the price stability at this stage, and the money flow speed will not be significantly affected in the short and medium term. However, the interaction between network currency and real economy deserves attention (2) financial stability risk when the virtual currency scheme operates outside the banking system, the most important factor of financial instability lies in its connection with the real economy, namely exchange rate and exchange market. Obviously, the closed network currency scheme and the one-way flow network currency scheme are not affected, so we should focus on the two-way flow network currency scheme. The value of two-way network currency depends on the level of money supply and demand in the exchange market. A big difference between network currency and real currency is that the network currency scheme is not based on the country or currency region, and the influence of virtual economy intensity, trade or proction capacity on its exchange rate is limited. The price of virtual money and its fluctuation depend on five factors:(1) money supply and other actions taken by currency issuers. For example: to achieve a fixed or semi fixed exchange rate by intervening in the market
(2) the network currency scheme shows network externality, and its monetary value depends on the number of users and merchants. As the number of consumers and businesses increases, their monetary value will increase accordingly. In addition, the exchange rate of network currency with small transaction volume fluctuates more(3) the virtual community with clear and transparent policies and advanced security measures is easier to boost confidence and the currency is stronger
(4) the reputation of network currency issuers in fulfilling their commitments. There is no "lender of last resort" in the virtual community, and the trust gained by the issuer is crucial to the exchange rate of internet currency
(5)
speculation on the future value of Internet money and cyber attacks on virtual communities. Due to the immaturity of the system, low trading, speculative activities and network attacks, the two-way network currency scheme is inherently unstable
qualitative. At present, the trading volume of these network currencies is small and the correlation with the real economy is low, so the stability of the financial system will not be affected. However, if Internet money becomes a substitute for traditional money in the future, it will bring instability to the financial system and even distort the relative prices of goods and services. The impact of network currency system on the financial system largely depends on the number of active users and the number of merchants who are willing to accept virtual currency for real transactions. In addition, virtual currency has only exchange value and no use value. Generally, network currency is not based on assets with intrinsic value and is not supported by central bank credit. At present, these network monetary systems are not allowed to lend
or borrow funds, so it can not pose a threat to the stability of the financial system, but we should pay close attention to its development. If there is any change in the future, it will undoubtedly have an impact on the financial system
in a specific virtual community, virtual currency payment activities have evolved into a "real" payment system, facing typical risks related to the payment system: credit risk, liquidity risk, operational risk and legal risk. The nature, scale and ration of these risks are largely determined by the design of the system or the degree of lack of liquidity, so it is difficult for the network virtual currency scheme to avoid or control these risks. According to the core principles of payment system (CP) issued by the bank for International Settlements (BIS), the network virtual currency scheme does not conform to most of the contents of CP, and does not belong to the systemically important payment system. Therefore, it will not cause
or transmit shocks in the global financial system. At present, there is no systematic risk in the network currency system outside these virtual communities
2. Lack of corresponding supervision and protection mechanism
in the real economy, the central bank plays the role of lender of last resort and has no default risk, so it can take actions in the case of payment crisis or unpredictable liquidity shortage to avoid chain reaction. However, in the network virtual currency scheme
it is impossible to use network currency as settlement asset. Because network currency simply depends on the credibility of the issuer, it can not be widely accepted as a means of payment, so network currency can not be regarded as a safe currency. In addition, commercial banks are required to accept prudential supervision, which reces the possibility of default, and the security of money in commercial bank accounts is higher than that of network currency. A fundamental risk of network currency is that the settlement institution of network currency scheme is not subject to any supervision, no institution is responsible for its behavior, and there is no investor / depositor protection mechanism, which causes the user to bear all the risks
supervision and the anonymity, invisibility and difficulty in tracking of its transactions, the network virtual currency scheme is very easy to be used by terrorist activities, fraud, money laundering and other illegal activities. At present, many government departments in many countries are considering whether to recognize or
legalize these virtual schemes and bring them into the scope of supervision, so as to support the innovation of currency and payment forms, protect the rights and interests of consumers and financial stability, and inhibit the use of virtual currency schemes to engage in criminal activities
at present, the uncertainty of the legal status of the virtual currency scheme may also bring challenges to the government authorities (5) reputation risk of monetary authority the reputation of Monetary Authority (central bank) is the key factor to determine the effectiveness of monetary policy. The public's trust in fiat money is closely related to the image of the central bank, which pays close attention to its reputation. The ECB defines reputation risk as the risk of deterioration of reputation, credit or public image. As the network currency scheme is related to money and payment, it is generally believed that it belongs to the responsibility of the central bank, so we should be alert to the reputation risk it may bring to the central bank. However, in the case of small scale, the impact of the failure of the network currency scheme is limited, but its high volatility and instability also aggravate the possibility of failure and attract extensive media coverage. If the network currency is allowed to develop continuously without
regulation, the central bank may be considered as dereliction of ty and affect its reputation (6) the risk of investors' loss
for exchange value, the public has a higher recognition of the investment value of network virtual currency, and it is investment based transactions that accelerate the formation of virtual currency market. Like other investment markets, participants in virtual money market will also face potential losses caused by market risk, credit risk and policy risk. Take bitcoin as an example: from 2009 to early 2010, bitcoin was worthless; In the summer of 2010, bitcoin trading began to enter the golden
period. As the supply was far less than the demand, the value of online trading began to rise. In early November, bitcoin was silent at 29 cents for many days, and then jumped to 36 cents; In February 2011, bitcoin continued to appreciate, and its exchange rate with us dollar
reached 1:1; In 2013, the price of bitcoin achieved a "Big Bang" growth, and hit US $1242 on November 29, 2013, surpassing the gold price of US $1241.98/ounce in the same period. Fierce price fluctuations make market participants face huge speculative risks. Unlike mature capital markets such as stocks and bonds, the depth of bitcoin market is insufficient, and it is mainly held in the hands of large investors with low degree of diversification. Bitcoin price is easily affected by large investors' buying and selling behavior, and also easily manipulated by speculators. At the same time, different countries have different attitudes towards bitcoin, Germany, the United States and other countries hold an open and supportive attitude, and Thailand, Brazil and other countries regard bitcoin related activities
as illegal. Every country's attitude and measures will have a significant impact on the price of bitcoin, especially in the short term
virtual currency is always inferior to real currency< br />
only in a few dozen words can we make it clear, to the effect that it is the first time to define the virtual currency of online games; Engaging in online game virtual currency business needs approval; The issuance and transaction of virtual currency in online games are standardized; Make it clear that virtual currency shall not pay for physical goods; When the service is terminated, the virtual currency must be returned to the user; Severely crack down on the use of virtual currency in gambling and other activities
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