In China, New Limits on Virtual Currency

The buying and selling of the make-believe currencies used in online gaming has become so widespread that Chinese authorities fear it will affect the real economy. To quell that threat, those authorities said on Tuesday that they had issued new regulations aimed at restricting the trade and use of virtual money. On Tuesday, China said that new regulations would restrict the trading and use of virtual money, and that virtual currencies would be banned from being exchanged for goods. The government also said it was moving to fight online gambling and disputes over virtual coins. In a release, Beijing said that while virtual currencies had helped promote online gaming, they have "also brought new economic and social problems." Edward Castronova, a professor of telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington who says he believes virtual currencies could pose a threat to world economies, applauded Beijing's move.