China accounts for about 23% of bitcoin trades. BTC China will immediately stop accepting new account registrations on its BTCChina Exchange, chief executive Bobby Lee said Thursday in a tweet. The communist nation plans to ban trading of bitcoin and other virtual currencies on domestic exchanges, Bloomberg News reported Monday. Shanghai Financial Service Office has also ordered to close down bitcoin trading platforms in the city, China Business News reported, citing an unidentified person. While Beijing’s motivation for the exchange ban is unclear, it comes amid a broad clampdown on financial risk in the run-up to a key Communist Party leadership reshuffle next month.

Source: Mint September 14, 2017 23:48 UTC