Chinese Twitter-like microblog platform Weibo has blocked more than 30 influential Chinese cryptocurrency-related accounts amid a series of actions by Beijing against crypto mining and trading.
Fast Facts:
- No clear reason has been given as to why the accounts were blocked. Since Saturday, a message has been displayed on each account page that reads: “This account is now unavailable due to complaints that it violates laws and regulations, as well as provisions of the Weibo Community Convention.”
- The blocked accounts carried analysis of the crypto market’s performance and promoted crypto projects. About 17 of them have reopened under new names. One operating under the name Blockchain William, for instance, has reopened with the new name William Chen, and has already attracted 28,000 followers.
- The episode is not the first in which Weibo has banned crypto-related accounts. TRON founder Justin Sun’s Weibo account has been blocked four times. The official Weibo accounts of three of China’s major crypto exchanges — Huobi, OKEx, and Binance — were suspended in March.
