CoinEx cryptocurrency exchange is winding down its business in Mainland China as the country’s crackdown on crypto intensifies, according to Cointelegraph.
On September 30 2021, the exchange formally announced that the company is retiring all user accounts verified as Mainland China residents. Users with mobile phone numbers linked to the country will be removed from the platform as well.
The exchange has also encouraged Mainland China-based users to withdraw their digital assets from the platform before October 31, 2021, at 4 p.m, Beijing time. Starting on September 30, CoinEx will disable accounts with zero assets.
‘After 16:00 on October 31, 2021 (UTC+8), the ONLY service available for these accounts will be withdrawal, that is, functions such as deposit and trading will be closed and ONLY the withdrawal service is supported. Please complete your asset withdrawal as soon as possible’, CoinEx stated in their announcement.
CoinEx further emphasized that the firm had previously restricted and cancelled the registration of new users from the said country in March 2019, prompting them to finish withdrawing their assets as quickly as possible.
The recent move by the crypto exchange was prompted by Beijing’s recent blanket ban that includes cryptocurrency trading. On September 24 2021, the People’s Bank of China announced that all crypto-related transactions will be considered illegal financial activities, emphasizing the country’s vow to restrict the crypto sphere.
Following this new anti-crypto regulation, CoinEx is not the only crypto exchange facing pressure to sever ties with mainland Chinese crypto investors and wrap up their operations in the country.
Huobi Global, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, announced that it has stopped accepting new mainland users and is planning to end its contracts with them by the end of the year. On the other hand, Binance is no longer accepting registrations with Chinese phone numbers.
This crypto ban has led Chinese crypto holders to protect their Bitcoins and other tokens, fearing their country’s tougher measures against cryptocurrency-related activities.
‘I have already received over a dozen messages – email, phone and encrypted app – from Chinese crypto holders looking for solutions on how to access and protect their crypto holdings in foreign exchanges and cold wallets’, David Lesperance, a lawyer specializing in relocating crypto holders to another country, told CNBC in an interview.
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