The Day at a Glance | June 21 2021

The Top

*The Central Bank of China called for banking institutions and payment system providers to crack down on cryptocurrencies.

*The White House shows willingness to negotiate an 8 year, $1.7 trillion dollar infrastructure package to get support from Republicans.

*The Corporate Coordinating Council expects to announce a third public-private infrastructure investment package by July.

Economic environment

China intensifies its campaign against cryptocurrencies. Through its central bank, China has called for banks and local bank systems to stop providing services related to the purchase and sale of digital currencies. The Central Bank of China ordered players in the financial system to cut payment channels for cryptocurrency trading. In a statement, the central bank assured that speculative trading of digital currencies is a risk for the financial system and the economy, increases criminal activities like money laundering and puts people`s wealth at risk. The central bank`s actions have echoed actions in other regions in the country (Sichuan, Xinjiang or Inner Mongolia), through which authorities prohibited mining currencies like Bitcoin or Etherum a month ago – with the intention of completely eradicating them in a year. The crackdown on cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency mining in China has considerably and negatively affected their appraisals among global markets. China focuses 75% of Bitcoin mining, given its technology infrastructure and low costs of energy.