South Korean exchange Bithumb denies recent raid on its Shanghai office

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has denied recent reports claiming that Chinese authorities raided its office in Shanghai.

When Chinese authorities designated blockchain as the country's major development technology a few weeks ago, it triggered a wave of enthusiasm for blockchain-related cryptocurrency industries among the Chinese public. Although the cryptocurrency prices initially surged due to a statement by the top leader Xi Jinping, a significant shift occurred last week.

On 11/15, Chinese authorities, including the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) Special Remediation Office for Internet Financial Risks and the Shanghai Financial Stability Joint Conference Office, jointly issued the "Notice on Carrying Out the Clean-up and Rectification of Virtual Currency Exchanges," stating:

Recently, under the guise of promoting blockchain technology, there has been widespread promotion leading to signs of a resurgence in cryptocurrency speculation. In order to prevent a resurgence, in accordance with the relevant deployment of the national Internet financial risk remediation office, we urge each regional remediation office to conduct clean-up and rectification of virtual currency-related activities within their jurisdiction.

Following this announcement, reports emerged of several cryptocurrency exchanges being raided, including the Korean exchange Bithumb. However, according to a report on 11/21 from The Block, a spokesperson from Bithumb stated:

Regarding recent rumors of a police raid and closure of the exchange's office in Shanghai, this is completely false. Our only Shanghai team is continuing to operate steadily without interruption.

Although Chinese media reported that Korean cryptocurrency exchanges had instructed their employees to take extended leave without specifying a concrete date for resuming work, Bithumb has now come out to deny these news reports.

Not only Bithumb, but Binance also rebutted similar reports, denying claims that Chinese police raided and subsequently closed the exchange's Shanghai office. Binance even stated:

The office does not even exist. The Binance team is a global movement made up of people scattered around the world. Binance does not have a fixed office in Shanghai or China, so it makes no sense for the police to raid and close these offices.

A Binance spokesperson indicated that this incident appears to be a targeted activity by Chinese media, pointing out that negative articles and activities against Binance in that country have recently increased. Binance further added:

We also encourage our friends in the media to verify whether their sources are telling the truth or present their evidence.

Further Reading

• Iran Enforces Nationwide Internet Shutdown, Highlighting the Importance of Decentralized Mesh Networks
• U.S. Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Plans to Regulate the Cryptocurrency Industry

Join now to get the most comprehensive information on financial technology, blockchain insights, and industry examples!