China Is Serious About Cracking Down on Cryptocurrency

CRYPTO CRACKDOWN. More than 120 offshore cryptocurrency exchanges have been blocked by Chinese authorities, the South China Morning Post reports. The exact reasoning is not entirely clear — the central bank didn’t respond to calls from SCMP reporters — though some speculate that the crackdown is a response to increasing financial risk and instability.

The government will continue to monitor for any new crypto news sites and announcements of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). If any appear, the government will shut them down immediately and deny user access by blocking their IP addresses.

The move comes after local authorities in Beijing banned some hotels from hosting any events that had anything to do with cryptocurrencies, and blocking blockchain news accounts on WeChat (the biggest social media company in the country) last week. SCMP reports that at least eight crypto media outlets on WeChat were affected.

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