A Chinese court has convicted employees and agents of the cryptocurrency exchange BKEX for operating illegal gambling activities through its contract trading platform. The People’s Court of Pingjiang County determined that BKEX's contract transactions were equivalent to online gambling, involving users placing bets on financial outcomes using stablecoins like USDt with high leverage. The platform, which allowed the speculation on cryptocurrency prices, attracted over 270,000 users before the intervention of Chinese authorities. Eight individuals faced criminal charges, with sentences ranging from one year to over two years, along with substantial fines and confiscation of earnings. This ruling is part of China's broader crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities viewed as threats to financial stability, including previous bans on banks handling crypto and ICOs.

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