PBoC requirements pushes China’s HaoBTC to close exchange

The Chinese central bank’s crackdown on domestic bitcoin exchanges has claimed its first casualty.

Bitcoin company HaoBTC announced that it is shuttering its bitcoin exchange operation effective Feb. 15, while RMB deposits will close on Feb. 17. Any open orders by 14:00 local time on those dates will be canceled automatically, according to the company.

HaoBTC, a company known as a mining pool, started operating a bitcoin exchange in April 2016.

“Given the fact that the prospect of a regulatory policy for a bitcoin exchange isn’t clear yet and to ensure that the majority of users use our Wallet like always, after a reluctant deliberation, we have decided to remove the Exchange from our Wallet and to cease the RMB deposit,” the bitcoin company announced on its website.