Huawei has released a bitcoin wallet on its app store for the first time, allowing Chinese consumers to hold virtual currencies even as Beijing steps up regulation on the nascent industry.

The Shenzhen-based Chinese smartphone maker has teamed up with BTC.com, an online platform for cryptocurrency investors, miners and developers, to add BTC.com's crypto wallet to Huawei's new AppGallery.

The move comes as China cracks down on speculative trading in the cryptocurrency market. Beijing banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) — a form of fundraising for cryptocurrency start-ups — last year, and has closed down domestic bitcoin exchanges.

"Cryptocurrencies have recently expanded the human understanding of digital economy at a large scale," Jaime Gonzalo, vice president of Huawei Mobile Services, said in a statement Friday.

"From our leadership position in China, the tip of the spear of mobile payments, we expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future."