Liu Chiping, president of Tencent, yesterday denied that "Q-coin" is a kind of virtual currency and emphasized that it is only a kind of "pre-payment method."

The Chinese government has recently issued some new management measures directed at virtual currencies and has made it clear that the People's Bank of China possesses the function of regulating virtual currency.

These management measures are included in a notice that was released in early March. Specifically speaking, the notice stipulates that the People's Bank will strictly constrain the amount of virtual currencies that online game operators issue and the purchase amounts of virtual items. Secondly, a clear distinction between the transactions of virtual products and the transactions of actual products by means of e-commerce will be forged to ensure that virtual currencies are only issued to purchase virtual products and services of online games instead of buying actual products. In addition, if consumers want to exchange virtual currency to legal currency, the amount shall not exceed that of the original purchase.

Tencent's "Q-coin" has been the topic of much discussion recently. According to Tencent's official data, more than 200 million netizens, which is an overwhelming number of users, have used the "Q-coin". Zhou Hongyu, a NPC deputy, implies that some virtual currencies have become "online RMB", which resulted in online gambling and other illegal activities. He also warned that virtual currencies have affected the country's financial balances.

Although denying the "virtual currency" feature of "Q coin", Tencent has also made business adjustments recently, including the halt of the service of transferring Tencent's online gaming coins into Q-coins.

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