WeChat Bans All Crypto-Related Content Following ToS Update

China has built a rocky relationship with the world of blockchain and digital assets over the past few years. Originally a country that encouraged mining, trade and other activities, almost everything was cracked down in 2021 as it was perceived as a gateway to government-disgusting operations, primarily due to high energy consumption. became.

The latest information on a series of crackdowns

The control Eventually, all cryptocurrency mining was banned in China, and many miners moved to neighboring countries, especially Kazakhstan and Iran.

Both of these countries took advantage of the situation and promoted the efforts of the newly established crypto business, Some restrictions..

In China, some form of digital-related research is still underway, especially in the CBDC. However, with the ToS update, WeChat, the country’s largest social network with over 1.1 billion users, has decided to ban all content that appears to promote digital assets.

WeChat’s policy changes to the world of cryptocurrencies were unearthed by Hong Kong-based journalist Colin Wu.

WeChat, which has more than 1.1 billion active users a day in China, has updated its rules. WeChat public accounts involved in the issuance, trading and financing of cryptocurrencies and NFTs are limited or prohibited. https://t.co/0I9oMrvFTp pic.twitter.com/mzclYjFZNg

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 20, 2022

Also for NFT

Prior to this update, NFTs were in gray regulated areas of China. Cryptocurrencies are already regulated, but WeChat’s ToS upgrades are specifically targeted at NFTs.

“Accounts that provide services or content related to secondary transactions in Digital Collection shall also be treated in accordance with this article.”

The new ToS further states that all accounts determined to be involved in “cryptocurrencies or digital collections” will be shadow-banned. The practice is that users who are already involved in a particular community can remain active, but that community will be removed from anyone’s search results. else – Or exit depending on the recognition level of the ToS violation.

NFTs have been largely ignored by Chinese regulators in the past, but a recent report by the China Times Shows The number of such platforms in the country has increased from about 100 to over 500 in 2022 alone.

According to Wu Junjie, a researcher at Harbin Institute of Technology, many of these suffer from questionable compliance procedures, both in terms of property rights and compliance.

“Regarding compliance with intellectual property rights, the Hangzhou Internet Court has determined that in the first domestic NFT case, the digital collection platform needs to have a higher pre-screening obligation, and rigorous investigation and reporting for the digital collection business. The mechanism has started. “

The dramatic increase in interest in NFTs, which culminated in the above proceedings, could put those assets under regulatory scrutiny and encourage WeChat to target “digital collections” along with cryptocurrencies. There is sex.