The accounts of several companies related to blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in China have been banned from WeChat, the messaging application that belongs to the Chinese mobile and Internet company, Tencent.
According to information published in the local media, the accounts of companies that disseminate information related to this sector were permanently blocked in the application for allegedly releasing information regarding Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies market, in general.
WeChat banned the accounts of dozens of blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, including some big names
According to the press release issued by Tencent, the crypto- and blockchain-related accounts banned from WeChat were violating the “Interim Provisions on the Development of Public Information Services for Instant Messaging Tools.” The list includes Deepchain, Huobi News, Jinse, CoinDaily, Golden Finance, Firecoin Information, Cannon Rating, Coin World Express Service, Daily Currency Reading, TokenClub, and Wujie Block Chain, among others.
In this regard, the CoinDaily website, one of the affected companies, stated that they had more than 100,000 registered users on WeChat and that they were building and operating a community of 45 groups within the app. They claim that their accounts are market-driven, while they only provide qualified information.
Tencent company, WeChat devs, works closely with the Chinese government
The WeChat messaging application is one of the most popular in China and is considered the “Chinese WhatsApp.” Until now, it was one of the few tools that allowed Chinese citizens to participate in the cryptocurrency market and access news on this topic, given the ban on ICOs and related advertising in China.
However, its system facilitates the censorship of the contents published on its platform, since Tencent recognizes that it shares data on its users with the Chinese government and that it eliminates the content that the regime considers inappropriate. Last May, Tencent suspended the Xiai Xiexi, a new blockchain-based app that would allow WeChat users to store contractual agreements.
