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Weibo Suspends Huobi, Binance, OKEx Accounts After Bitcoin Surge
Chinese social media app Weibo suspended the official accounts of four major crypto exchanges: Huobi, Binance, OKEx and MXC.
By David Pan
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 12:25 p.m. Published Mar 11, 2021, 6:46 p.m.
The Chinese social media platform Weibo suspended the official accounts of Huobi, Binance, OKEx and the upstart crypto exchange MXC on the platform at around 7:15 UTC (2:15 a.m. ET) on Thursday morning. Weibo said these accounts had violated laws and community rules.
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The suspension came several hours after news that bitcoin reached the $1 trillion market cap became the 10th-most popular topic on Weibo. Another topic about a semiconductor chip shortage leading to the bitcoin price surge became the 25th-most popular on Weibo at around the same time. Weibo has 511 million monthly active users, according to its latest quarterly report.
The ranking is determined by a number of factors, including likes, comments, searches and reposts generated by certain content over a 24-hour period, according to Weibo.
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Chinese authorities do not ban bitcoin itself, but restrict the activities of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. The government’s attitude towards bitcoin can be difficult to understand. While some regulators would characterize bitcoin as a threat to China’s financial stability, state TV also featured the cryptocurrency’s recent bull run.
Weibo has shut off influential crypto accounts before. In 2019, the platform shut down the accounts of Tron founder Justin Sun and Binance executive Yi He.
Read more: YouTube Suspends CoinDesk’s Channel (UPDATED)
Another Chinese social media platform, WeChat, permanently shut down several public accounts in 2018, claiming the accounts were creating content related to initial coin offering or promoting crypto trading.
As press time, the official accounts of these exchanges’ chief executives remained accessible on Weibo.
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Fintech and Crypto Firms Seek Bank Charters Under Trump Administration: Reuters
Financial technology and crypto firms are increasingly applying for state or national bank charters, despite the community’s historical resistance to centralized banking.
Что нужно знать:
- Fintech and crypto firms are increasingly applying for bank charters, anticipating a more favorable regulatory landscape.
- Becoming a bank allows firms to accept deposits and lower borrowing costs but brings stricter oversight.
- Regulatory bodies have historically approved few new bank charters, though recent signals suggest a more streamlined process.
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