Is China Really Banning Bitcoin Exchanges, Or is it Fake News?

HYPE

Amid a swirl of speculation and assumptions, mainstream media outlets in the West are reporting that China will indeed be banning Bitcoin exchanges.

This comes after the Chinese government placed a blanket ban on ICOs earlier.

The reports in publications like the Wall Street Journal and others are quoting ‘anonymous’ sources that were not providing too much detail.

Anonymous sources

According to the Wall Street Journal, and their unverified and anonymous sources, the regulators were not even sending clear messages on the details of the ban - such as when it would occur.

Apparently, one regulator told an exchange that the decision had already been made, while another said that it could take a few months.

"Despite the foggy nature of these proclamations, the Bitcoin price has taken a second dip after recovering from the news of the ICO ban in China."

Bloomberg also reports on the claims about exchange bans but says:

“The ban will only apply to trading of cryptocurrencies on exchanges, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information is private.”

The apparent reason for the exchange ban?

Bitcoin has been a major disruptor in China and its socialist monetary policies.

As such, it is believed that the Chinese government has perceived the growing interest of the digital currency as a threat especially as Chinese investors have been seen to buy up Bitcoin and bet against the yuan.

The anonymous source cites “too much disorder” as the reason for the alleged shutdown, echoing the Chinese central bank’s words last week criticizing ICOs for disrupting the country’s financial order.

Highly skeptical

Many hardline beliefs in Bitcoin are rightly skeptical about the perceived ban from China as there has been no official word, and no one brave enough to put their name on the news.

CEO and founder of Chinese exchange BTCC has put up a twitter poll asking if people believe that the ban is real with over 80 percent of people saying no.

OKCoin responded to this news saying:

“‘Till now we haven't been informed by any authorities about closing BTC exchanges, if that happens, we will show notifications on our website in no time. Even if that's the case, we would be running offline trading for users, and your balance of coins in your account will be absolutely safe.”