Updated: 1 year
•Binance reportedly processed $90 billion worth of trades in China in May 2021 despite the country’s ban on cryptocurrency.
•Internal documents suggest that Binance helps users bypass restrictions by directing them to websites with Chinese domain names.
•A Binance spokesperson claims that Chinese users cannot access the website, however internal figures show that China is still the platform’s biggest market.
Binance Trades Despite Crypto Ban in China
Despite banning cryptocurrency-related transactions in 2021, China remains a lucrative market for crypto exchange Binance. In May alone, internal figures from the exchange show that its users traded $90 billion worth of crypto assets, accounting for 20% of its global volume excluding large traders.
Bypassing Restrictions
Current and former employees of Binance have openly discussed the importance of China as a market for their platform. Internal documents also reveal how the firm helps its users bypass restrictions imposed by authorities by directing them to websites with Chinese domain names before rerouting them to the global exchange.
Firm’s Investigation Team Works With Authorities
The investigation team at Binance also continues to work closely with Chinese authorities to identify potential criminal activities among its 900,000 active users in the country. A spokesperson for Binance has pushed back against reports claiming otherwise, saying that Chinese users cannot access their website due to it being blocked in China.
Crypto Transactions Illegal In Country
China declared crypto-related transactions illegal citing security and social stability reasons which led to a crackdown on digital assets within the country in 2021. As part of this effort, user accounts based in China were switched to withdrawal mode only which disallows trading transactions on Binance’s platform.
Conclusion
Despite intense regulations imposed on cryptocurrency-related activities, it seems that there are still ways for exchanges such as Binance to operate within this environment while ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations.