By Alicia Maher
Only a few days after the umpteenth crypto ban from China, leading crypto exchange, Huobi, is in the news again. Earlier, it was reported that Huobi is closing its operations to Chinese investors and traders following the ban. According to the latest reports, Huobi miners have moved 100,000 Bitcoins valued at $4.21 billion for an undisclosed reason.
Huobi runs the eighth-largest mining pool in the world. On-chain analytics firm, IntoTheBlock, reported a transfer of 100,00 BTC by miners from the pool on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of a continuous crackdown by Chinese authorities on cryptocurrencies. The transferred Bitcoin valued at $4.21 billion is reportedly the largest since late December 2017 when the flagship cryptocurrency attained an ATH of almost $20k.
Huobi Reportedly Tries to Meet Withdrawal Requests of Chinese Investors
Apart from being prompted by the ban, IntoTheBlock has attributed the reason for such a sudden move to withdrawal requests from Chinese traders and investors who are trying to beat the December 31st deadline issued by Huobi. Following the ban order from authorities, Huobi announced the closure of its operations in China and urged users in the region to transfer their assets before the ultimatum expires. Thus, Huobi most likely intends to meet these requests.
IntoTheBlock reported that Chinese investors are already moving their crypto assets from Huobi and other exchanges into cold storage.
Binance and Other Announce Closure of Operations in China
Huobi is not the only one in dire straits given China’s latest ban. Largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance has also notified its Chinese customers that it is quitting operations. Users most affected by the decision from both exchanges are those in the Mainland region. Already, the two exchanges have precluded new users from opening accounts on their platforms.
Another crypto trading platform in China, BiKi has announced an imminent closure which will take effect by November 30th. BiKi also revealed plans to start a buyback program for its native token. The regulatory pressure is also being felt by other exchanges.
Meanwhile, Blockchain and crypto journalist, Collin Wu, reported that recruiters are already scouting for the former employees of these exchanges who recently resigned. Institutions that plan to extend their operations are seriously scouting for these employees, Wu Blockchain reported. Software engineers are in high demand in the crypto industry, the journalist noted.
The latest ban from Chinese authorities is considered the 19th after a series of bans since 2009. China has shown its displeasure on several occasions including a mining ban in May. Alternatively, China intends to issue a central bank digital currency which has witnessed significant progress since China’s central bank People’s Bank of China began a pilot program for the Digital Yuan.