China's Regulatory Crackdown Forces More Bitcoin Exchange Closures

The regulatory crackdown in China against cryptocurrency trading platforms is happening once again. It all started yesterday as the exchange BTCC announced it was closing on September 30. Now the exchange Viabtc is also shutting down operations in mainland China on the same day, and more exchanges are expected to follow.

Also read: GMO to Invest 10 Billion Yen in Its Own 7nm, 5nm and 3.5nm Dedicated Bitcoin Chips

All Chinese Cryptocurrency Exchanges Must Announce They Are Closing Operations

According to reports, all exchanges that deal with cryptocurrencies in China must shut down operations to stay compliant with the country’s regulators. Following these rumors early this morning, the exchange Viabtc announced it would also be closing operations on September 30. The price of bitcoin is down 38 percent since the two Chinese exchanges made their announcements. At press time BTC is struggling to stay above the $3K price range.

“On September 4th, China’s central bank together with six other departments released a public statement on regulatory policies and warned of the risks of ICO projects,” explains Viabtc’s closure announcement.

As a responsible cryptocurrency exchange platform, Viabtc has made a serious decision to carry out the spirits of the policy — we will officially close the website Viabtc.com for exchange business in Mainland China on September 30th.

Another Chinese Trading Platform to Shut Down on September 18

After Viabtc revealed the trading platform would be closing, the exchange Yobtc detailed that it would be ceasing trade operations as well. Yobtc gives the same explanation, but says they will be closing up shop on September 18 and customers should withdraw funds by then.

“With the spirit of the document, adhering to the prevention of investment risks, and the maximum protection of our user’s principle of interest we have decided to clear domestic currency trading,” explains Yobtc’s announcement.

Litecoin’s Charlie Lee: ‘Cryptocurrency Cannot be Killed by Any Country’

The two largest exchanges in China Huobi and Okcoin are expected to reveal closure announcements today. Yesterday litecoin creator, Charlie Lee, explained that Huobi and Okcoin were meeting with regulators today and will likely announce closure soon. Lee says to his Twitter followers that the regulatory crackdown in China is good, stating;

This is a good thing. China can no longer play with the markets by banning Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency cannot be killed by any country.

Exchanges Might Resume Operations After Procuring a Bookkeeping License

Following the closure announcements, rumors are circulating that all that is needed for exchanges to resume operations is a license. According to a few reports, Chinese trading platforms will likely reopen after procuring a financial book keeping license.

Beijing market regulator requires all virtual currency exchanges (ie. OKcoin and Huobi) to stop trading by end of today. — Luna Lin (@LunaLinCN) September 15, 2017

Bitmain Technologies CEO Jihan Wu has been explaining to the public the whole time that exchanges just need licensure and “bitcoin is not banned in China.”

What do you think about the regulatory crackdown in China and the closing of Chinese bitcoin exchanges? Let us know in the comments below.

Images via

Want to create your own secure cold storage paper wallet? Check our tools section.