OKCoin and Huobi to Freeze Bitcoin Withdrawals, Raises Concerns about Centralized Platforms
Two leading Chinese Bitcoin Platforms, Huobi and OKCoin have stopped users from withdrawing their bitcoin deposits. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, but most Bitcoin exchanges aren’t. The drawbacks of such a model are now being witnessed firsthand by the Chinese cryptocurrency community. The leading Bitcoin exchanges in the region, OKCoin and Huobi are planning to stop their customers from withdrawing bitcoin from their respective accounts. The new measures implemented by two of the country’s big three exchanges follows the increased scrutiny of the Chinese Central Bank to prevent....
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Two of China's most widely used bitcoin exchanges have announced that they will suspend bitcoin and litecoin withdrawals for one month effective immediately. Yuan recharge, withdrawals and other services will not be affected, the exchanges said. In public posts that showcase the increasingly coordinated nature of exchange policy in the region, both OKCoin and Huobi said today that the move was a bid to bolster their anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities and prevent "illegal transactions". In the case of OKCoin, only it's OKCoin.cn portal is affected. Both OKCoin and Huobi....
The Bitcoin price plunged by 9 percent overnight, declining from $1,060 to $959 across major global Bitcoin exchanges. The short-term drop in price was likely caused by the announcement of Huobi and OKCoin to temporarily disable Bitcoin and litecoin withdrawals for one month. Huobi and OKCoin are two of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in China that control approximately 25 percent of the global Bitcoin exchange market. The two Bitcoin exchanges process around $55 mln worth of Bitcoin and litecoin on a daily basis. In the morning of Jan. 9, almost immediately after a meeting took place....
OKCoin, one of the two Chinese Bitcoin exchanges, is demonstrating progress in sorting out user fund withdrawals. On Feb. 9, it was requested by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to halt Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals. On March 1, OKCoin told their users that the exchange is approving the transfer of user funds stored on the global OKCoin trading platform to their Chinese site because the company’s .CN platform is nearly ready for approval by the PBoC and relaunch. Earlier in January, the PBoC asked OKCoin and Huobi, two of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in China, to suspend trading until....
Bitcoin price has fully recovered since the temporary Bitcoin withdrawal suspension on Huobi and OKCoin traders, having increased from $980 to $1,123 within two weeks. On Jan. 18, Huobi and OKCoin were requested by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to overhaul their know your customer, hereinafter KYC, and anti-money laundering, hereinafter AML, regulation. Local publications including the Shanghai Observer reported that the PBoC told the two exchanges they were in violation of local regulations and failed to meet industry-wide standards. Three weeks after the PBoC made its initial request....
OkCoin and Huobi announced an immediate suspension of withdrawals for one month after receiving a Directive from the PBoC to improve on their AML systems. This singular act caused Bitcoin price to plunge nine percent overnight, declining from $1,060 to $959 across major global Bitcoin exchanges. OkCoin and Huobi may have kept their customers in the dark probably to prevent massive withdrawals by customers out of panic, thereby making it difficult for the company to bounce back after the interval. “This is like when a stock exchange halts trading to avoid an irrecoverable collapse,” says....