{"id":9292,"date":"2021-09-30T21:46:04","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T01:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=9292"},"modified":"2021-09-30T21:46:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T01:46:04","slug":"9292","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/30\/9292","title":{"rendered":"Shanghai Man: Looking deeper into China’s biggest ban yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry\u2019s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Well, it finally happened. The regulation-driven crypto-apocalypse in China. They started by clamping down on miners earlier this summer before finally tightening the screws on exchanges. This week, the final nail in the coffin came with even more rules from the PBoC that resulted in many platforms announcing they could no longer accept Chinese users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Banned yet again<\/span><\/h4>\n

The new <\/span>rules<\/span><\/a> handed down by the People\u2019s Bank of China made things incredibly clear for businesses from a legal standpoint. One of the main points was that cryptocurrency-related business activities are illegal, a ruling that cast doubt over the long list of projects, exchanges, and financial service providers in the country. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many projects responded instantly by eliminating WeChat communities and even internal messaging groups on domestic networks, preferring to operate through VPNs and more privacy-focused chat apps. Leading exchange Huobi, which sits third on the global leaderboard for volume, <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> they would be permanently closing down Chinese user accounts at the end of the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Huobi
Chinese users on Huobi must make a decision before accounts close on December 31.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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If true, this would be a massive blow to the exchange that has long-serviced the Chinese community with a high standard of service that includes deep liquidity, a wide range of assets, and few security blemishes to speak of. Experienced Chinese investors might still be skeptical that Huobi would make such a drastic change, as announcements and policies can change very quickly in the Chinese world of crackdowns and political posturing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trouble for overseas players<\/span><\/h4>\n

Perhaps the most alarming point of the PBoC announcement was that overseas cryptocurrency exchanges providing services to Chinese residents are also deemed to be illegal financial activities. Additionally, it stated that there are legal risks to participating in cryptocurrency investment transactions. This sparked some fear among employees of crypto companies who suddenly worried they might be the next target of crackdowns by law enforcement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Binance was quick to point out that the domain Binance.com has been blocked in China since 2017, excluding it from the regulatory discussion. It also announced it would no longer accept new registrations from Chinese users, but said nothing about existing accounts. BitMart, another exchange with ties to China, also announced that on November 30, it would be closing accounts from users in the Chinese mainland. Biki, an even smaller exchange, announced it would be winding up exchange operations altogether. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Many people are asking, China has banned Bitcoin 19 times, what's the difference this time? \ud83d\ude02 Fine, this lawyer explained in detail the 5 differences. Google Translate is required to read. https:\/\/t.co\/WEMq99QCU1<\/a><\/p>\n

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 30, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n