Weibo accounts of Binance and Tron have been blocked due to ‘violations of laws’

Exchanges • November 15, 2019, 4:15AM EST
UPDATED: November 15, 2019, 10:54AM EST
Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s official Weibo account (a Chinese microblogging website similar to Twitter) has been blocked.

The exchange’s Weibo page now reads: “The account has been blocked due to violations of laws and regulations and the relevant provisions of the Weibo Community Convention.”

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All content, including the number of followers, has been removed from the page. It is not clear specifically why the account has been suspended. The Block has reached out to Binance for a comment and will update this story if they reply.

China Times reported Friday that the suspension could be subject to “more stringent penalties,” citing some insiders. It also said that Binance’s upcoming launch of fiat gateways via WeChat and Alipay could also be the reason for the account blockage.

Last month, Binance announced that it is going to allow Chinese users to buy bitcoin through WeChat and Alipay channels. People familiar with the matter told The Block at the time that the initiative is currently in a testing phase for Android users and will eventually be fully rolled out on iOS and Web.

Notably, the Tron Foundation's Weibo account has been blocked too. The Block has reached out to the foundation for a comment and will update this story if they reply.

Weibo accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges Huobi and OKEx, on the other hand, are intact. 

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.