As posted , rumors are swirling today that the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) has issued messages to banks and payment processors to close accounts held by Chinese Bitcoin exchanges, including those of Huobi, BTC China, and Okcoin. The rumored document contained an April 15th deadline. The accuracy of the alleged PBOC restrictions has been debated today as to its accuracy. Several Chinese media sites, including Caixin has posted the news to be true based on a document viewed by one of their sources. As a result, prices of bitcoins today have fallen more than 10% in China to 310o yuan.
However, since gaining attention, bitcoin exchanges in China have yet to confirm they have received any messages about the account restrictions.
Following up on the matter, Digital Currency Magnates reached out to Huobi CEO, Leon Li about whether his firm had received message from any partner banks or payment processors. Responding by email, Li answered that neither them nor their partners have received the message, stating that:
We have not received any official notification, partner banks have not yet received the relevant notification. We are waiting for a confirmation message.
A similar statement has been reported to have been issued by representatives from Okcoin. Despite the lack of clarity on the matter, there is precedence of the PBOC speaking directly with major banks before trickling down information to other financial firms.
