More crypto exchanges cut China ties, Baidu registers blockchain platform Du Yuzhou: Blockheads

More global crypto exchanges to cut ties with mainland Chinese customers in the wake of new rules cracking down on crypto trading in China. Bitmain announced they will stop shipping popular crypto-miner Antminer to mainland China. China’s search giant Baidu registered a new blockchain software platform. 

Cutting ties with mainland China

• Two crypto investing and exchange firms have announced plans to retire all existing mainland accounts by the end of this year to comply with new rules in China. China’s central bank issued a directive on Sept. 24 stipulating that it considers overseas crypto exchanges providing crypto trading services to mainland Chinese users as “illegal financial activities.” Matrixport and Mexc have both announced that they will retire existing mainland Chinese users. (China Star Market, in Chinese) 

• Crypto mining equipment maker Bitmain announced on Oct. 10 that it will stop shipping Antminer to mainland China to comply with local rules. Antminer refers to a series of Bitmain’s crypto mining equipment. For customers who have purchased long-term products, Bitmain said staff “will contact them to provide alternative solutions.” (Cointelegraph)

• Jihan Wu, a co-founder of crypto mining machine maker Bitmain, told “The Best Business Show” (streamed on Youtube on Sept. 28) that retail crypto investors would soon disappear in China. “They will all retreat from crypto, and only those high net-worth Chinese families will stay in crypto,” Wu told the host Anthony Pompliano. Bitmain plans to move most of its production out of China in response to the country’s latest crypto crackdown. (AMBCrypto)

Baidu registers blockchain software

• China’s search engine giant Baidu has registered copyright of a new blockchain software called “Du Yuzhou,” according to the enterprise database site Tianyancha. Du Yuzhou’s official website was launched in June 2018. Du Yuzhou’s website said it aims to become a cultural and entertainment application ecosystem built with blockchain technology. (China Star Market, in Chinese)

• China’s state-backed blockchain project, the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), will expand its global presence by setting up two new portals in Turkey and Uzbekistan in late December 2021. Red Date Technology, the company providing tech support to the BSN project, has signed an agreement with the Turkish Chinese Business Matching Center (TUCEM), a Turkish consultancy firm, to launch two international BSN portals in Turkey and Uzbekistan. The new portals will allow blockchain developers to build blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) applications. (Cointelegraph)

Huobi personnel reshuffle

Zhu Jiawei, COO of Huobi, left the crypto exchange in April “to spend more time with family,” according to an announcement made public on Wednesday. Zhu joined the exchange in 2015 and had assumed top roles, including Assistant CEO and Director of Operations. Founded in China in 2013, Huobi stopped providing services to mainland Chinese customers in late September because of the country’s year-long crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. (CLS, in Chinese)