U.Today - China's popular social media platform Weibo has banned 80 high-profile crypto influencers, each with over eight million followers. This appears to be a continued effort to clamp down on cryptocurrency activities, according to a by the South China Morning Post.
The move is in compliance with local laws that aim to curb speculative trading and the promotion of virtual assets.
Back in August 2022, Chinese internet regulators ordered the removal of thousands of crypto-related accounts and posts across various platforms. As , a slew of prominent crypto personalities were also banned from Weibo back in 2021.
Weibo stated that it will continue to monitor user complaints and investigate illicit cryptocurrency trading.
Beijing's unyielding crypto policy
The ban reflects Beijing's ongoing stringent stance on cryptocurrency despite the industry's growth in other regions like Hong Kong.In 2013, China's central bank barred financial institutions from handling Bitcoin transactions, marking one of the country's earliest moves against cryptocurrencies. The government's stance hardened in 2017 when it banned and shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges. By September 2021, top government agencies caused despite China being a top Bitcoin mining hub in the past.