Chinese Banks State That Legal Crypto Accounts Will Not Be Frozen

Rumors have started to spread that Chinese banking firms are going around freezing various client accounts. Particularly, clients that hold a history in the purchasing and selling of cryptocurrencies. Chinatimes, a local news outlet, reported on the 13th of June that China had made a clarification. According to this clarification, the banks are not shutting down any legitimate fiat-to-crypto accounts.

Major Players Giving Their Statements

The report stated that the Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China all gave the same response. They explained that banks will not actively freeze the funds of a user, but only if the channels, operations, as well as the source of the cryptocurrency are all legal. Furthermore, the websites these users do business in must also support their bank card services. The only times the banks would freeze these accounts, they say, is in regard to cases related to fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities.

The management fund security department of Alipay had its personnel comment about the matter. They explained that the operation is a legal one, should they have a dedicated Alipay payment page. If it’s legal, the team stated, the payments will not involve account or funding freezes, as well as other issues.

Things Under The Veneer

Further investigation in the matter at large shows some very interesting results. Over the counter transactions, such as those supported by WeChat, Alipay, as well as most bank card accounts of major banks, have shown no such warning reminder when users operate transactions.

While the official statements are all well and good, insiders in the industry were quick to remind the public at large to make use of a separate account when it comes to crypto trading. They explained it’s really not a good idea to use the same bank cards you use for other important purposes when purchasing crypto. This includes wage cards and deduction cards, as well as cards relating to car loans and mortgages.

A Shift In Sentiments

Last year, Alipay all but banned transactions that related to cryptocurrencies as a whole. Back in September of 2017, Chinese regulators issued out a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges, seeking to crack down on all crypto trading within the country. In true Chinese fashion, however, it seems that this is becoming an ever more inconvenient thing to enforce. Binance had allegedly secured a new domain a month ago, one registered with the Chinese Government.