Alibaba will block sales of crypto mining equipment beginning October 8 to comply with China’s clampdown

• Alibaba will block sales of crypto mining equipment and the sale of crypto themselves beginning October 8.
• The e-commerce giant said it took into account the "instability of laws and regulations on virtual currencies."
• It will close down two categories – Blockchain Miner Accessories and Blockchain Miners – under its consumer electronics section.
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Alibaba announced it will block sales of cryptocurrency mining equipment and cryptocurrencies themselves on its platforms beginning October 8, in step with China's recent blanket ban on all crypto-related transactions.

The Chinese e-commerce giant said it took into account the "instability of laws and regulations on virtual currencies."

As such, it will also ban any tutorials, strategies, and software for obtaining cryptocurrencies, and will close down two categories – Blockchain Miner Accessories and Blockchain Miners – under its consumer electronics section.

"We will keep track of policy changes in each country and adjust our control policies accordingly," the company said in its announcement, signed by several Chinese top regulators.

Alibaba said merchants who violate the new policies beginning October 15 will face consequences, such as the deletion of their products or the shutting down of their accounts.

Alibaba also operates online shopping platform Taobao and used goods platform Xianyu, among others.

China's central bank on September 24 declared all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal and said overseas exchanges are banned from providing services to Chinese residents.

Coins such as bitcoin and ether "are not legal and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market," the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

The cryptocurrency market fell slightly following the news, though on a more muted note compared to previous, less extreme bans. Experts say the announcement was mostly priced in already.

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