Official WeChat Accounts Of Chinese Crypto News Outlets Banned For Creating Hype
As a part of the latest crackdown on crypto-related activities in China, the official WeChat accounts of several crypto media outlets have been taken down, reports local publication South China Morning Post.
While China has already banned trading of digital assets and exchange operators a year back, the regulatory authorities are now targeting media communication channels accusing them of creating hype among the Chinese investors, and the cause of market manipulation.
By Tuesday evening this week, nearly eight blockchain and crypto news outlets were banned including Lanjiner, Jinse, Huobi news, and Deepchain. Some of these have also received huge funding from venture capital firms to run their operations.
Jinse’s official WeChat account noted: “Due to users’ complaints and after the platform’s examinations, the account is found to violate ‘Temporary Regulations on the Development and Management of Public Information Services for Instant Messaging Tools’ and all contents have been banned. The account has been prohibited for use.”
In a statement, WeChat’s parent operator Tencent said that it has shutdown the accounts of these media outlets permanently as they are “suspected of publishing information related to ICOs [initial coin offerings] and speculations on cryptocurrency trading.” Tencent says that this ban is in line with the newly introduced regulations earlier this month by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
One of the regulations also talks that some media accounts would be impacted on the grounds that they must abide by the rules and regulations. It states: "The users of instant messaging tools serving in public information service activities shall abide by relevant laws and regulations. For instant messaging service users who violate the agreement, the instant messaging service provider shall take measures such as warning, restriction, suspension, and closure until the account is closed, meanwhile saving the relevant records and fulfilling the obligation to report to the relevant authority.”
Despite the last year’s cryptocurrency ban on trading and exchange operations, crypto news and media outlets continued to foster as they kept the interest for digital currencies going among Chinese investors.
Earlier this year in March 2018, China’s state run media outlet People’s Daily accused blockchain and crypto outlets of manipulating the crypto markets and promote ICO projects. The publication noted: “These ‘media’ outlets have made huge fortune in the speculative waves of cryptocurrencies, but due to their nature, it’s doubtful how long their barbaric growth can keep on going.”