WeChat Block Crypto And NFT Accounts

JAKARTA – After the Chinese government strictly banned crypto and NFT activities in the country, now the Chinese messaging platform WeChat is reportedly updating its policy to block cryptoverse-related accounts.

According to the new policy, accounts involved with the issuance, trading, and financing of cryptocurrencies and NFTs will be restricted or banned and will be classified as “illegal business”, reported by Cointelegraph.

"Accounts that provide services or content related to secondary transactions of digital collections must also be handled in accordance with this clause," according to WeChat's statement.

The decision was highlighted by a prominent crypto reporter, Colin Wu. According to him, WeChat's policy is very important because the platform has more than 1.1 billion users in China.

In terms of penalties, the new policy states that “once the violation is discovered, the WeChat public platform will, according to the severity of the offence, order the offending official account to rectify within a time limit and restrict some account functionality until the account is permanently banned.”

The Chinese government rolled out a phased ban on the local crypto sector between May and September last year. However, given the timing of the latest policy update on WeChat, it could indicate that the platform has left some crypto activity unknown since then.

In addition, there is still a regulatory gray area in the country regarding NFT as assets can be purchased with fiat money. However, companies and platforms generally prohibit secondary trading to avoid potential compliance issues with technology financialization.

With the new policy, WeChat officially limits crypto and NFT related accounts. This reinforces the Chinese government's decision to ban activities related to blockchain-based digital assets.