Tencent Pulls Plug on WeChat Accounts Accused of Conducting ICOs, Crypto Trades
Liao Shumin
DATE:  Aug 22 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Tencent Pulls Plug on WeChat Accounts Accused of Conducting ICOs, Crypto Trades Tencent Pulls Plug on WeChat Accounts Accused of Conducting ICOs, Crypto Trades

(Yicai Global) Aug. 22 -- Tencent Holdings, one of China's biggest tech firms, has shut down a number of public accounts on its social app WeChat after they were alleged to have illegally raised funds through initial coin offerings and enabled virtual currency transactions.

Many popular accounts distributing information on blockchain, such as Jinse Finance, Tokenclub, Bishijie and Huobi News, violated rules governing communication tools for public information services, Tencent said in a statement yesterday. Jinse Finance and Bishijie are still accessible via their WeChat mini app.

The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, reported in March that industry experts were accusing many media outlets, including at least some of those in question, of encouraging investors to purchase certain coins and promoting ICOs under the guise of private fundraising.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are based on blockchain technology, came into the Chinese government's firing line last year due to the risks associated with money laundering and illegal fundraising. The nation outlawed crypto trading and ICOs in September when yuan-to-bitcoin transactions made up more than 90 percent of global deals, according to state-owned news agency Xinhua, which reported in July that the figure had fallen below 1 percent.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   BLOCKCHAIN,ICOs,Wechat,TENCENT,Cryptocurrency