While most parts of the globe barely knew about the crypto-verse, China emerged as one of the first countries to embrace the industry. Now, as every nation seemed to be veering into the industry, China decided to outrightly ban all things crypto. The country mercilessly took down prominent Bitcoin mining giants and imposed a blanket ban on the industry.
Despite this, several Chinese residents continued expressing their interest in the market. However, China was clearly on a mission to mitigate everything related to crypto. Therefore, the Cyberspace Administration of China decided to take down over 12,000 crypto-related social media accounts.
The Chinese government has been quite vocal about its stance on the industry. The bear market further strengthened this notion as Bitcoin plummeted below $20K.
But, the National Cyberspace Administration of China had been taking precautions even before the bear market reached its peak. The regulator went on tackle misinformation on social media that were promoting cryptocurrencies.
It was brought to light that over 12,000 Weibo and Baidu accounts were shut down due to the same reason. In addition to this, more than 51,000 illegal information was taken down. This included information that propagated “Easy to make money by investing in Bitcoin.”
Furthermore, 500 odd websites were interviewed and 105 were shut down. These websites were said to be involved in endorsing cryptocurrencies as well as formulating tutorials on cross-border currency speculation along with information pertaining to crypto mining.
The latest news does not come as a surprise considering China’s dislike towards Bitcoin. It’s likely that the Chinese government would continue barring all things crypto from its region.
How is Bitcoin faring in China?
Despite the ban, several reports of underground mining in the country surfaced. It seems like BTC-related activity isn’t entirely negated in the region.
As seen in the above chart, the weekly LocalBitcoins volume had taken a hit. From its 2017 peak, it has witnessed a rather dramatic fall. Nevertheless, there was still some activity in the region. Therefore, several noted how certain Chinese residents would continue embracing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies albeit the ban.
Meanwhile, at press time, Bitcoin was clinging to the $23K level.