(Yicai Global) June 10 -- Search results for a number of virtual currency exchanges are turning up blank on China’s main search engines, indicating that the country’s clamp down on cryptocurrencies is gaining steam.

When searching for Binance, Huobi and OKEx, Baidu responded that “no related items were found” and Weibo said the search results cannot be displayed due to certain laws.

Not showing search results for cryptocurrency exchanges indicates that virtual currency speculation is highly risky and not approved by the government, industry insider Su Xiaorui told Yicai Global.

Cryptocurrencies are becoming a major means for cross-border money laundering as the transactions are anonymous, easy to perform and worldwide, the Payment and Clearing Association of China said yesterday.

As digital currencies become increasingly mainstream, regulators in China have sought to curb cryptocurrency mining and trading via exchanges registered overseas after banning such bourses from the mainland in 2017.

Virtual currencies are not supported by real assets so their pricing can be easily manipulated, the China Banking Association, the National Internet Finance Association of China and the Payment and Clearing Association said on May 18. Traders should be aware that those who lose money are not protected by Chinese laws, they added.

China must improve its laws and regulations to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency mining and trading in order to maintain normal economic and financial order and thus create a better environment for the upcoming issuance of the digital Chinese yuan, said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at Merchants Union Consumer Finance.

Financial administrations must work with judicial authorities to punish institutions and platforms that unlawfully participate in virtual currency trading and speculation, Dong added.

Editor: Kim Taylor