Major Chinese exchanges BTCC, Huobi, Okcoin and CHBTC have all chosen to delay resuming Bitcoin withdrawals after new announcements from the People’s Bank of China PBoC).
Having previously indicated the resumption of withdrawals would begin this month, it now appears the exchanges’ priority is confirming that regulatory precautions suit PBoC regulators.
“Once the regulatory authorities have given their approval, you may withdraw currency,” Okcoin said in a statement to users Wednesday, adding it would make a further announcement when withdrawals were viable once again.
The move comes as a reaction to yesterday’s comments by PBoC director Zhou Xuedong. Hinting at China’s regulatory future, Xuedong said that a “forgiving attitude” would be adopted vis-a-vis exchanges, but that “strict supervision” would continue, culminating in a potential licensing scheme or similar legislation.
The PBoC has also released a list of activities deemed “negative” and which will not be allowed.
These include “offering leverage and margin trades,” “producing fake volume and involving market manipulation with the help of zero fees” and “replacing fiat by using Bitcoin to purchase goods,” cnLedger quotes from a translated report.
Meanwhile, BTCC had previously stated it would resume withdrawals by March 15. Last week, the smaller exchange Bter began allowing withdrawals once again, subject to a 10 BTC daily limit.