Blog

Looks like the heavy hand is coming down. China’s two largest cryptocurrency exchanges, OkCoin and Huobi, have paused bitcoin and litecoin withdraws until such time as updates are completed to comply with new regulations. This is a developing story so all the details aren’t completely known yet, but the news has already sent the bitcoin price tumbling below the $1,000 mark. Chinese exchanges were notified that if they do not comply with new regulations regarding money laundering, foreign exchange, and other monetary concerns, the People’s Bank of China may recommend their immediate shutdown.

Yesterday, nine smaller Chinese exchanges were notified that if they do not comply with new regulations regarding money laundering, foreign exchange, and other monetary concerns, the People’s Bank of China may recommend their immediate shutdown. These two larger exchanges have said that they are moving proactively in order to comply with these laws. The pause only affect cryptocurrency withdraws and does not impact RMB transactions or any other services. The companies have said that this measure is only temporary; normal services are said to be restored within a month or sooner if the updates are completed more quickly.

It’s worth noting that BTCC, another of China’s “Big Three” exchanges has not issued a similar statement or halted any transactions. Neither have any of the smaller exchanges in the country. It’s also worth noting that since the enforcement of transaction fees, China’s share of bitcoin transactions has dropped precipitously meaning they no longer represent 90% of those transactions (though they still do the lion’s share of the mining). The US has since surpassed them as the leader in bitcoin transactions.

The bitcoin price seems to have found support around $960 as of this writing. This story is still developing however, so expect more news to follow. For more information, follow the link below.