SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 / 12:51 PM
China bitcoin exchanges awaiting clarification on closure report.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Bitcoin exchanges said on Saturday they are still awaiting clarification from the authorities on a media report that they will be shut down.

Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after Chinese financial publication Caixin reported that China was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, although analysts said this was just a temporary setback.

The news follows China’s move earlier this week to ban so-called “initial coin offerings,” or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report.

A spokeswoman for Beijing-based OK Coin said the platform has not received any notification from regulators.

Spokespersons at Beijing-based Huobi and Shanghai-based BTCC said they were still waiting for further official clarification.

Reporting by Brenda Goh, Writing by Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bitcoin-china/china-bitcoin-exchanges-awaiting-clarification-on-closure-report-idUSKCN1BK05K

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 / 10:45 PM
Bitcoin tumbles on report China to shutter digital currency exchanges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after a report from a Chinese news outlet said China was planning to shut down local crypto-currency exchanges, although analysts said this was just a temporary setback.

Sources close to a cross regulators committee that oversees online finance activities told Chinese financial publication Caixin that authorities plan to shut key bitcoin exchanges in China.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report. But two sources in direct contact with officials at three Chinese bitcoin exchanges - Beijing-based OKCoin, Shanghai-based BTC China, and Beijing-based Huobi - said the platforms told them that they have not heard anything from the Chinese government.

The news follows China’s move earlier this week to ban so-called “initial coin offerings,” or the practice of creating and selling digital currencies or tokens to investors in order to finance start-up projects.

Greg Dwyer, business development manager at crypto-currency trading platform BitMEX, said there was confusion over whether China would close bitcoin exchanges following the ICO ban.