Binance and Huobi halt new-user registrations in mainland China
Bitcoin exchanges Binance and Huobi halted new-user registrations in mainland China after a fresh wave of government crackdowns on cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg.
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The companies barred customers from using Chinese phone numbers to register new accounts. According to the agency, residents of Hong Kong can still create wallets on both platforms.
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In a conversation with Bloomberg, a Binance spokesperson said the company does not operate in China and blocks the relevant IP addresses. He did not comment on the ban on the use of local telephone numbers.
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“Binance takes its obligations to comply with regulatory requirements very seriously and strives to follow the directives of local regulators wherever we operate,” he said.
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Huobi published a notice indicating that it stopped registering users from mainland China on 24 September 2021. The reason was the company\’s desire to comply with local laws. By 31 December the platform will delete existing accounts of PRC residents.
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Wu also drew attention to Whale Alert messages indicating that more than 22,000 BTC (~$928 million at the exchange rate at the time of writing) had been moved from Huobi addresses. He stressed that if the exchange is attempting to cope with a flood of withdrawal requests, these should be transfers from cold wallets to hot wallets.
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Not 10,000, it is 22,000 BTC.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 26, 2021
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On 24 September came news of another wave of crackdowns in China on the cryptocurrency industry. The National Development and Reform Commission of China pointed to the negative environmental impact of mining and its insignificant contribution to the country\’s economy.
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The People\’s Bank of China (PBoC) characterised as illegal the activities of platforms that facilitate the exchange of digital assets among themselves or into fiat. Previously, the director of the PBoC\’s Payments and Settlements Department, Wen Xinxian, described cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as a threat to the traditional financial system.
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As Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire urged other countries not to follow China\’s example in regulating cryptocurrencies.
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A similar view was voiced by US Republican Senator Pat Toomey. He said that Beijing\’s actions open up new opportunities in the digital-asset industry for the United States.
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