BISS Exchange Shuts Down as China’s Crackdown On Crypto Continues

It’s safe to assume that the continued crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges in China won’t stop soon. Over the past week, several reports have come out concerning the efforts of the Chinese government to crack down on cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. Now, however, the names of affected exchanges are begging to get leaked. 

On November 22, Dovey Wan, a popular Chinese cryptocurrency insider and partner at blockchain investment company Primitive Ventures, announced via a tweet that BISS Exchange, a relatively popular exchange in the country, has been shut down by police as part of a wide investigation into its operations. In addition to the shutdown, the exchange, Wan reported that police also arrested ten workers at the Beijing based exchange. 

A week of unrelenting raids 

The government of China has been particularly brutal to cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. While crypto-assets themselves have been banned in China since 2017, the government hadn’t done much to restrict the operations of businesses in the space. However, all that came to an end this week, as several investigations have been conducted in major cities.

Just yesterday, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, a news medium that is affiliated with the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shenzhen Committee, reported that after an investigation into the region, the finance bureau of Shenzhen municipality had identified 39 fully operational cryptocurrency exchanges. 

Per the news medium, the investigation efforts were conducted by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), the Economic Investigation Bureau of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Municipal Communications Administration. A crackdown on liquidity is reported to be in progress as well, while all exchanges found will also be made to cease their operations at once. 

UPDATE: Shenzhen law enforcement identified 39 “illegal cryptocurrency” companies

Most likely are ponzi and crypto frauds as Shenzhen is known for being the hub of those. According to the news, exchanges involved will be impacted, waiting for full listhttps://t.co/pkVHYPVqlj https://t.co/gdsXyS28nO

— Dovey "Rug the fiat" Wan (hiring) (@DoveyWan) November 22, 2019

In addition to Shenzhen, finance news source Caixin reported a week ago that the Shanghai headquarters of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), as well as the Shanghai Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, had ordered its administrative office in the city to carry out a sweeping investigation of crypto exchange activities in the region as well.

So far, there have been reports about several popular exchanges being affected by these operations, with the most popular of these companies being Btihumb and Binance. However, both have come out to expressly deny any effects on their operation, with the former assuring everyone that its blockchain office in China remains fully optimal and Binance claiming that it doesn’t even maintain any operations in China, to begin with. 

Could the “ChinaCoin” be coming soon? 

However, while this is undoubtedly terrible for cryptocurrency enthusiasts who believe that the Chinese government might be starting to warm up to cryptocurrencies (especially considering the events of the past three weeks or so), this crackdown could also be an indication that the government is getting ready to finally roll out its digital currency. 

Several cryptocurrency insiders have predicted that the Chinese digital currency will be launched within the next year, and by doing its best to restrict other cryptocurrencies from operating in the country, the government sees to be clearing the ground for its asset to launch and operate without any competition. 

Until the asset is launched, however, there is no indication that these crackdowns will stop just yet.