124 int’l crypto exchanges face ban in China: report

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Chinese regulators are taking a rigid stance on cryptocurrency. The latest onslaught against crypto-related activities comes from the China National Fintech Risk Rectification Office, which has identified a total of 124 international cryptocurrency trading platforms that are operating in the country, the Shanghai Securities Times reported.

According to the state-backed financial news outlet, the agency, tasked with protecting Chinese citizens against financial risks brought by activities like peer-to-peer lending and crypto trading, wants to monitor the commercial use of cryptocurrency as well as to block internet access to these trading platforms.

Blocking the international crypto exchanges is part of the Chinese government’s two-pronged approach against crypto-related activities in the country. Recently, a WeChat restriction placed on blockchain and cryptocurrency accounts in China, resulting in several cryptocurrency media on the Tencent-owned messaging app being shut down. According to reports, the China National Fintech Risk Rectification Office will permanently shut down domestic websites and official accounts of crypto trading and ICO services on the messaging app.

Equally, China has also started prohibiting commercial venues from hosting crypto related events and the first stop is Beijing’s Chaoyang district as reported by local news outlet, The Paper. The reasons given for the prohibition include preventing money laundry, ensuring the security and stability of the financial system as well as protecting property rights. Any means through which crypto investors can gain access to ICOs and cryptocurrency is also being targeted.

China has taken steps to protect its citizens against financial risks for a while now. In 2017, China banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) and most crypto trading platforms from operating in the country. This resulted in a migration of major cryptocurrency exchanges from China to other crypto-friendly jurisdictions. Currently, major exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, and Bitfinex appear not to be available on the country’s internet search.

The Chinese crackdown, however, is far from over. According to reports, the agency has begun talks with third party vendors to shut down any account suspected of handling cryptocurrency.

Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.