BTCC, an international cryptocurrency exchange with headquarters in China, has announced it has ceased all domestic trading activities.
On its website, BTCC now states that all local trading in yuan and cryptocurrencies has been officially suspended as of midday, September 30, Beijing time. The exchange stopped accepting deposits on September 27, with China-based users being advised to withdraw their funds from the exchange before the end of October.
In a tweet accompanying the closure, BTCC claims to have had the longest known lifespan for a cryptocurrency exchange, having operated for a “world record” of 2,305 days.
The closure of the exchange’s China-facing trading operations comes following a statement from financial regulators on September 4, which banned developers and entrepreneurs from launching token sales (or ICOs) within the country. Exchanges in the country have since “voluntarily” decided to cease trading activities, though regulatory pressure is widely believed to have been the catalyst.
BTCC will continue to operate trading services outside China, and has also confirmed that its mining pool will continue to operate normally. Other major cryptocurrency exchanges in the country – including Yunbi, Huobi and OKCoin – are expected to cease trading by the end of October.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in BTCC.
Closed sign via Shutterstock