Chinese Social Media Giant “WeChat” Bans Crypto And NFT-Linked Accounts

WeChat, the top social media in China, has once again updated its policies to prohibit accounts that provide access to crypto or non-fungible token (NFT)-related services. This time around, users involved with the issuance, trading, and financing of crypto and NFTs will be either restricted or completely banned, falling under the illegal business category.

The recent amendments appear a few months after the same Chinese messaging app, WeChat, and its rival social media platform WhaleTalk, updated some of its policies, citing a lack of regulatory clarity and fearing a government crackdown. At the time, WeChat removed several digital collectible platform accounts for violations of the updated rules.

The newly reviewed policies will now apply to all secondary NFTs trading with the Chinese messaging app, noting that “accounts that provide services or content related to the secondary transaction of digital collections shall also be dealt with in accordance with this article.”

While commenting on the newly updated policies, Collin Wu, a proficient crypto news Hong Kong-based reporter who broke the news, pointed out the impact of the action given that WeChat has more than 1.1 billion daily users in China.

According to the new policy, “once messaging app discovers such violations, the WeChat public platform will, according to the severity of the violations, order the violating official accounts to rectify within a time limit and restrict some functions of the account until the permanent account is banned.”

In September 2021, the Chinese government launched the first phase of the crypto ban, leaving many crypto-related firms shifting their operations to more crypto-friendly states. Nonetheless, the latest policy update suggests that WeChat has been allowing crypto-related activities to go unnoticed since then.

WeChat Upholds Decision To Ban NFTs

Although China has not set a proper regulatory framework for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), several tech giants and platforms have stopped secondary trading of NFTs to avoid compliance issues over the financialization of the rapidly evolving tech.

In March 2022, social media giants such as WeChat and Ant group-owned WhaleTalk began distancing themselves from the NFTs. At the time, the two announced removing or restricting the NFT platform from their network over a lack of regulatory clarity and fear of clampdown from Beijing.

Moreover, the China Banking Association, the China Internet Finance Association, and the Security Association of China jointly issued a statement warning the public about possible hidden risks associated with investing in digital assets.

Despite the highlighted risks, a local media outlet reported that the number of the digital collectible platform in china has grown to more than 500, increasing five times since February 2022.