China steps up crypto clampdown with threat of jail sentences

China has now lumped fundraising with digital tokens together with illegal fundraising, enabling courts to mete out sentences of up to 10 years prison. — Bloomberg

China expanded its criminal law to encompass fundraising with digital tokens, giving authorities additional firepower to stamp out a sector they declared illegal last year by using heavy sentences.

The country’s supreme court on Thursday released its latest interpretation of the criminal law on illegal fundraising. The amendment for the first time lists cryptocurrency sales among illegal ways to raise money from the public.