China’s cryptocurrency ban has platforms working overtime to shut down accounts from the mainland. On Friday, China’s government bodies issued a joint statement, which barred exchanges overseas from providing cryptocurrency services to investors on the mainland via the web.
It’s a part of the Chinese government’s pledge to halt cryptocurrency activity, deemed illegal.
Cryptocurrency is an exchange medium where individuals invest in digital coins, and transactions are stored on a secure database, which controls the transfer and creation of additional currency. In 2009, Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency.
Since 2009, several digital currencies have been introduced to investors, and the popularity of digital currency is skyrocketing globally. Cryptocurrency has reached the mainstream. Several major brands now accept cryptocurrency for the purchase of goods and services.
Ban
As a result of the ban, Chinese crypto-firms took a beating, with shares plunging after this crackdown, closed the last loophole and shut down the sector on the mainland. Two major global exchanges, Binance and Huobi Global halted new registration from customers in the mainland. Huobi expects to clear existing accounts by year-end.
In recent years, Southeast Asia has seen steady and expansive growth in cryptocurrency investment. However, the Chinese government views cryptocurrency as a speculative investment with no real value and instability in pricing. Alternatively, China supports a government-backed, official digital currency.