The world’s largest crypto exchange plans to restrict all users in Mainland China from trading crypto on its platform by the end of the year.
What Happened: On Wednesday, Binance announced it will delist the CNY trading zone on Dec. 31, 2021.
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“At the same time, Binance will conduct an inventory of platform users. If the platform finds users in mainland China, their corresponding accounts will be switched to the ‘withdrawal only’ mode, and users will only be able to withdraw, withdraw, redeem, and close positions,” stated the crypto exchange.
Binance said the new measures were “in response to the regulatory requirements of the local government.”
Following the announcement, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell from around $56,300 to $55,200, shedding 2% of its value within 30 minutes.
China has maintained a strict “anti-crypto” stance since 2017, reiterating that crypto trading and mining activities are prohibited within the nation, several times over the years.
However, the country’s residents continued to trade cryptocurrency by taking advantage of the hard-to-trace nature of crypto transactions on OTC desks.
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“To me, it’s giving back the profits I made in the past few months,” he said. “I’m looking at the 10- to 20-year horizon,” said Charles, a 35-year-old real estate consultant in Shanghai, to Bloomberg earlier this year.
According to a report from a local crypto news publication 8BTCnews, investors in the region are already on the lookout for loopholes to Binance’s upcoming trading restrictions.
Seems like if you search 'overseas kyc' on Chinese biggest shopping app Taobao, you can buy accounts with foreign identity kyc.#Crypto #China pic.twitter.com/2eJgEKmh9C
— 8BTCnews (@btcinchina) October 13, 2021
“Overseas KYCs” are reportedly available on the Chinese shopping app Tababao where users can buy foreign identity documents to register on crypto exchanges.
Photo: Executium on Unsplash