Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy towards cryptocurrency is in full swing, with China’s most popular crypto media outlets ChainNews and Odaily disappearing from the internet. ChainNews previously tweeted that due to maintenance, the website will be unavailable for 10 hours on Monday; however, it was inaccessible in and out of mainland China until Wednesday.
Similarly, Odaily, a popular cryptocurrency news and education platform, has gone into obscurity over the past few days. Still, this is not the first time that crypto-related platforms have become inaccessible due to pressure from Beijing.
Previously, in July, Bishijie (English Coin World) was also forced to terminate its operations in mainland China.
The first major crypto crisis in China occurred in May and resulted in a complete shutdown of mining operations in the country as China’s share of Bitcoin mining dropped from 60 percent to nearly zero. Not only that, China, in September; announced a well-thought-out plan to bring down everything crypto-related, which many consider to be the strictest anti-crypto policy ever enacted.
Beijing has also issued a warning against foreign crypto platforms offering their services to mainland China, causing several crypto exchanges, including Huobi, OKEx, and Binance, to cease all operations in the country.
China Facing Third Wave of Crypto Crisis
The fierce crackdown in May and September has led many to believe that China has finally succeeded in eradicating crypto entirely, but the recent series of actions suggests it will be a continuous process. This was mainly due to the fact that it is almost impossible to ban crypto due to its decentralized nature and the surge in DeFi activity after foreign crypto exchanges were banned.
Authorities in China recently arrested a high-ranking government official who was illegally mining Bitcoin and defying Beijing’s orders. This triggered the country’s third and ongoing wave of pressure, which many believe contributed to the recent correction in the crypto market.