Chinese Bitcoin exchange Huobi has clarified that requests for proof of origin and destination of funds “is just for users with potential money laundering risks.”
In an update to its original circular, which was translated by cnLedger last week, the exchange stressed that other customers would not be affected by the requirements.
Publication of the message sparked speculation that China was about to re-allow Bitcoin withdrawals from exchanges in line with new regulatory moves by the central bank and others.
While that shift has yet to occur, Chinese trading off-exchange on resources such as LocalBitcoins peaked again following comments from the People’s Bank of China Director Zhou Xuedong.
LocalBitcoins currently remains unregulated and openly accessible in China.
At the same time, another senior Chinese finance figure has gone on record saying that Bitcoin “is not suitable for real-world financial applications.”
Li Lihui, former Bank of China president, made the comments in his capacity as leader of the Internet Finance Association of China, a Blockchain work group, cnLedger further reports.
He added that Bitcoin’s Blockchain was only able to handle “slow, low-frequency” operations and “has not really broken through” beyond that use case.