Alipay Swoops to Curb Bitcoin (BTC) Dealing Again
Alipay cut off its payment platform from the possibility of loading funds for BTC buying.
Alipay cut off its payment platform from the possibility of loading funds for BTC buying.
Alipaydoes not want to play cryptocurrencies. The payment service, an offshoot of the Alibaba brand, swooped in to ban all transactions related to Bitcoin (BTC) or other crypto purchases. The ban arrived just a day after social media actually rejoiced on the new opportunity.
https://twitter.com/celinelu7/status/1181857104115535872
The availability of Alipay and WeChat payment services for purchases was even corroborated by Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the CEO of Binance. The news came as a surprise, given the strict stance of the Chinese government on exchanging crypto coins for fiat.
https://twitter.com/celinelu7/status/1181857104115535872
And it turned out that indeed, China is not ready to allow a leak of capital through those payment services. The government supports blockchain projects, and condones the biggest mining industry in the world, but fiat-to-crypto exchanges are facing restrictions.
Alipay stated that if it identifies transactions related to crypto assets, it would discontinue the service, sparking comments of censorship.
https://twitter.com/Alipay/status/1182193887835672578
Zhao clarified the fact that Binance was not working directly with Alipay or WeChat, but he still considered it a success that Chinese nationals could use those services to access crypto assets. However, he inadvertently invited heightened censorship.
The usage of Alipay and WeChat is related to the newly launchedpeer-to-peer serviceon Binance. The service mimics the usage of LocalBitcoins, allowing small-scale trades without using the central exchange. The service is based on yuan payments. At this point, it is uncertain if Alipay can monitor transactions for connection to BTC purchases, as they are between peers and do not bear a clear designation.
Binance remains a purely crypto-based exchange, which receives its inflows from Tether (USDT). The usage of the Yuan-pegged Tether stablecoin is still limited. The volume on LocalBitcoin in China has also fallen significantly.
The matter of using fintech apps turned out to be highly sensitive, as it touches on the issues of the potential for censorship and control coming from the Chinese government. Still, the country remains one of the powerhouses for crypto development, mining, and trades.