Chinese Crypto Exchange BitZ Announces Closure as Crackdown Continues

Amidst another major crypto clampdown in China, the 4-year old Chinese exchange BitZ shutters its operations. 

The cryptocurrency exchange BitZ announced its closure after four years of operating one of the most popular online exchanges. It stated “policy and regulatory requirements” as the reasons behind its latest development. 

While the actual closure date is set for October 21, 2021, the exchange said it suspended new user registration and KYC earlier. Those operations stopped on Mainland China back on September 26, 2021. However, only a few days prior the exchange Tweeted about DMX’s listing on the exchange. 

BitZ informed existing users that it plans an “orderly withdrawal under the premise of ensuring the safety of user assets”. In addition, it outlined major features of the lead up to its closure at the end of October. 

• A closure of all registration and the end of asset recharging on October 8, 2021. Only certain transactions and withdrawals remain available. On this automatic asset withdrawal will open. 
• The OTC trading function of the website turns off on October 14, 2021. On this day uncompleted positions will be automatically closed.
• On October 21, 2021 currency trading stops and users will not be able to login into either the website or APP. 
• Moreover in the closure period, the native currency of the BZ platform will be repurchased at  0.16USDT.  Once it hits 12:00 on October 21 (UTC+8), the platform will no longer accept orders for repurchase. From then, users will bear losses. 

The platform then thanked all participants over the last four years of its operations. 

China’s Crypto Crackdown 

The closure of the BitZ crypto exchange is only one of the many crypto-related enterprises in China to halt operations. 

Last month, the big news out of China was yet another ban on digital currencies from the Chinese central bank. This time the statement effectively banned almost any business related to cryptocurrencies.

The PBOC’s statement reiterated that. “virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal currency.” This made the conclusion that  “virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities.”

Shortly after the ban, the country blocked major websites which pertain to crypto-related practices. Among those embargoed are CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, and TradingView. The attempts from the Chinese government to restrict access to the crypto market are clear. 

The fate of exchanges and crypto-related ventures in China or dealing with China-based clients is not a bright one. Over the last year miners fled the country in large numbers due to the restrictive government crackdowns. 

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