China Bans Crypto Events in Beijing, Blocks 124 Trading Platforms

Despite a nationwide crackdown on cryptocurrencies already in place, the Chinese government went one step further and passed a decree forbidding all crypto-related events in Beijing's financial district.

According to local news outlet South China Morning Post, authorities banned all hotels, malls, office buildings and other commercial properties from hosting "Cryptocurrency talks and promotions." Although the news was circulated by mainstream media on Aug. 22, the official announcement was issued five days earlier on Aug. 17 by a local financial service department.

An unnamed official confirmed the document's authenticity, adding that the increasing number of crypto-events in Beijing's financial district led them to the decision, especially promotional activities for a myriad of obscure cryptocurrencies.

"We now order every shopping mall, restaurant, hotel and office building not to provide venues for any events that promote or talks about cryptocurrency, and must report to the authority if such activities were found."

The news follows in quick succession to WeChat's decision to ban cryptocurrency media accounts.

Authorities have blocked more than 120 exchanges from providing cryptocurrency access to domestic traders, according to Shanghai Securities News.

Financial authorities, along with China's National Fintech Risk Rectification Office, are said to have identified 124 trading platforms registered in overseas locations, which also possess international IP addresses, that are operating in mainland China.

The two bodies are tasked with blocking internet access to all named trading platforms and ramping up scrutiny of the cryptocurrency space.

While popular cryptocurrency exchanges like OKEx, Binance and Bitfinex had their internet access cut off after China's blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in 2017, local exchanges with significantly less trading volume appear to be operational.

Additional reports yesterday confirmed that WeChat may permanently shut down cryptocurrency business accounts, instead of merely disallowing access temporarily.