BTCC, the first Bitcoin exchange based in China, has announced, following a crackdown on cryptocurrency trading regulations, that it has been bought out by an as-yet unnamed blockchain investment firm based in Hong Kong. The company, formed by US citizen Bobby Lee in 2011, was formerly known as BTC China. The details of the purchase have been kept secret, with neither terms nor amounts being disclosed. BTCC is now going to focus its attention exclusively upon international markets. The company’s three main products – USD Exchange, Mobi, and BTCC Pool – will now become its priority concerns, the division being respectively run by Aaron Choi, Mark Ma, and Denver Zhao. Zhao, whose role in BTCC is that of President of BTCC Mining Pool made a recent statement in which he declared that the exchange now has sufficient resources that it can realise its vision for stabilising and safeguarding cryptocurrencies more fully. He further stated that BTCC will provide more comprehensive, more transparent, fairer, and better Bitcoin mining services to its worldwide customers, going forward.Early this year, the Chinese government increased the steps it was taking to crack down on the trade in digital currency. According to an anonymous tip to financial website Bloomberg, Chinese officials intend to block all domestic access to any platform that allows centralised trading, be they offshore or local. China began this campaign against the altcoin market in 2017, initially by banning Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) for start-ups, and followed by extolling local exchanges in the country to cease their trade in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Bobby Lee posted about the acquisition on Twitter, stating that the purchase was a milestone for his company, and one that would validate the hard work that his staff had put in over the last few years. He went on to say that, like Zhao, he is excited about this influx of resources into the exchange, which will allow BTCC the opportunity to grow its business faster and more aggressively throughout 2018 and into the future.