China's Crackdown on Cryptocurrency Trading: A 2019 Recap

While China has waged war on domestic cryptocurrency trading activities since 2017, this year saw it tighten the screws as hype around crypto's underlying blockchain technology renewed interest in digital assets.

As Cointelegraph reported in September 2017, Chinese regulators placed a ban on local cryptocurrency exchanges, forcing them to close.

Shortly after the ban, news broke that the government sought to crack down on all domestic cryptocurrency trading, not just commercial exchanges.

After finally completing the crackdown on local cryptocurrency trading businesses, China started adding offshore cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offering websites to its so-called Great Firewall.

Still, the ban proved ineffective as reports started circulating that Chinese cryptocurrency traders continued their activities by using virtual private networks to bypass the firewall.

More recent reports suggest China's fight against cryptocurrency trading has not yet ended.

In late November, reports suggested that at least five Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges had halted or chosen to terminate operations.

During the same month, Shenzhen authorities identified a total of 39 exchanges that broke China's cryptocurrency trading ban and initiated corrective measures against them.

Earlier this week, securities regulators issued a warning for local companies, stating that the Chinese government plans to renew its crackdown on cryptocurrency trading.

This month, China also hinted that its treatment of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin may change again as it looks to reform its forex markets.