Intensified Crypto Ban Forces Huobi to Stop Accepting New Users From Mainland China

The Chinese government is not holding back on its mission to stop all crypto activity in the country, and has continued to widen its crackdown against bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

Huobi Blocks New Chinese Users

The intensified attacks have now forced Huobi, one of the major exchanges in the country, to suspend new user registration coming from China.

Recall that crypto trading and mining crackdowns escalated in China on Friday after the nation’s central bank issued another update, reiterating not for the first time that digital assets are banned and exchange operations will also be prohibited. As usual, the crypto market took a hit, and bitcoin shredded a few thousand dollars within an hour.

Complying with China’s Ban

To comply with China’s latest regulatory measures against crypto activities, the exchange has halted users from opening new accounts with mainland China mobile numbers with plans to block existing users from accessing its platform by year-end.

“To comply with local laws and regulations, Huobi Global has ceased account registration for new users in Mainland China. Huobi Global will gradually retire existing Mainland China user accounts by 24:00 (UTC+8) on Dec 31, 2021, and ensure the safety of users’ assets,” Huobi said in an official announcement.

The exchange said it previously blocked existing Chinese users from trading derivatives back in June when China renewed its crackdown on crypto activities.

Binance Does Not Operate In China

Meanwhile, it is not clear when Binance blocked Chinese sign-ups since it does not require new users to specify their region during registration, but the exchange told Bloomberg that it does not operate in China and blocks Chinese IPs trying to access its platform.

“Binance takes its compliance obligations very seriously and is committed to following local regulatory requirements wherever we operate,” the exchange said in an email.

While Huobi and Binance no longer allow new sign-ups from mainland China, both platforms are reportedly still accepting new registrations from Hong Kong users.

Unlike the above-mentioned exchanges, OKEx, another major crypto exchange in China, is still accepting new registrations from mainland China numbers and Hong Kong, perhaps because, just like Binance, it does not ask users to specify their country at sign up.