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Li Tao

BTC China, a major bitcoin exchange platform in China, said on Thursday that it will suspend all trading at the end of the month.
The announcement comes amid intensifying rumours that all domestic bitcoin exchanges may be facing closure as the government cracks down on cryptocurrencies, which have been traded beyond the scope of regulators. Several news organisations have reported that Beijing was preparing to place a blanket ban on trading in virtual currencies, but such a move has not been officially confirmed yet.
BTC China stopped registering new users today and will halt all trading on the platform from September 30, according to a statement posted its website on Thursday evening.
The decision was made in response to a recent ban imposed by the authorities on the practice of fundraising through initial coin offerings (ICOs), which serves to protect investors, according to the statement.
It follows an announcement by China’s Bitkan earlier this week that it would suspend its over-the-counter bitcoin and bitcoin cash trading services from today, also citing the ICO ban.
Bitcoin in free fall after China’s Bitkan suspends over-the-counter trading
The price of bitcoin slumped on Thursday, dipping by as much as 36 per cent to 16,000 yuan (US$2,440) at 8pm, after financial news site Yicai.com said China’s regulators had taken the decision to shut down all bitcoin trading platforms.
The move to eliminate all bitcoin trading was to prevent financial and social risk, and exchanges should negotiate with bitcoin owners to resolve their existing business, Yicai.com said, citing several unnamed officials in charge of internet finance.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the Chinese authorities were planning to shut down bitcoin exchanges.
BTC China, OKCoin and Huobi are the three biggest bitcoin exchanges in China.
The state-backed National Internet Finance Association (NIFA) on Wednesday issued a statement on its website, saying that all cryptocurrencies including bitcoin lack a foundation for their value and that their exchange platforms are operating unlawfully in China.
China’s US$150 billion cryptocurrency market accounts for roughly a quarter of global bitcoin trade. It is home to many of the world’s biggest bitcoin miners – independent groups who process bitcoin transactions and in return for fees and newly created digital currency.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said 90 per cent of the ICOs launched in China were found to have been fraudulent.


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Bitcoin

BTC China to halt bitcoin trading amid reports of blanket ban

Is Beijing about to completely outlaw bitcoin trading? Photo: Bloomberg

Bitcoin assault shows no target is too small for China

In spite of surging prices, bitcoin remains a small fraction of China’s financial system. Photo: AP

A collection of bitcoin tokens stand in front of an illustration of binary code this arranged photograph in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. The electronic coin that trades and is regulated like oil and gold surged 79 percent since the start of 2016 to $778, its highest level since early 2014. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Bitcoin needs regulation, says CEO of Chinese exchange

A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration

Bitcoin plummets in value as PBOC announces formal investigation into virtual currency

Turnover of bitcoin in China now accounts for 80 per cent of the global total. The price surged to around 8,000 yuan per bitcoin by the end of 2016 from 2,500 yuan at the beginning of the year. Photo: Reuters

Photo Golden Bitcoins (new virtual money )__ Image ID:167491283 Copyright: Julia Tsokur

Bitcoin themed balloons float in the air during the "Inside Bitcoins: The Future of Virtual Currency Conference" in New York April 8, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)

Bitcoin in free fall on report China may shut digital currency exchanges

A bitcoin sits on coaxial cables inside a communications room at an office in London. Photo: Bloomberg

FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin (virtual currency) coin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration/File Photo

Bitcoin cash and the ‘civil war’ that is disrupting digital currency

A man enters the Inside Bitcoins conference and trade show, in New York. A civil war between the techies that run bitcoin appears poised to cause significant disruption of the digital currency. Photo: Associated Press

This picture taken on April 7, 2017 shows a man walking past a signboard informing customers that Bitcoin can be used for payment at a store in Tokyo. Frenchman Mark Karpeles, former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange MtGox, heads to trial in Tokyo on July 11, 2017 on charges stemming from the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the virtual currency from its digital vaults. / AFP PHOTO / Toru YAMANAKA

FILE PHOTO: Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo