Having already banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) – which also effectively banned domestic cryptocurrency trading platforms – the Chinese government has announced that it will now ban internet access to more than 100 overseas crypto exchanges, as CoinDesk reports.
The news was first reported by the Shanghai Securities Times, which noted that the China National Fintech Risk Rectification Office has thus far identified 124 IP addresses belonging to foreign crypto trading platforms that it will block. It will now “step up its efforts in monitoring commercial use of cryptocurrency and to block internet access to these trading platforms,” according to CoinDesk, citing the report in the Shanghai Securities Times.
CoinDesk provides some background on China’s efforts to crackdown on cryotocurrency trading:
Authorized in 2016 by China’s State Council, the National Fintech Risk Rectification Office is a government agency that aims to protect against financial risk related to issues like peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurrency trading.
In September 2017, the People’s Bank of China notably announced a rule banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) and, in effect, crypto trading platforms in the country. Following the notice, major exchanges based in China moved their businesses overseas.
Currently, internet access to several major exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, and Bitfinex appears to be unavailable in China.
In addition to blocking access to overseas trading platforms, China will also “permanently shut down domestic websites and official accounts on the WeChat messaging app if they are found to be providing crypto trading and ICO services,” according to CoinDesk.
Photo: Getty iStock