Binance to halt Chinese yuan crypto OTCs and restrict China user access

Binance has said it will halt the marketplace for the Chinese yuan over-the-counter (OTC) trading on its platform following China's latest crypto trading crackdown.

Binance, one of the major crypto exchanges that have a significant number of China-based customers, said in a Chinese statement on Wednesday that it will delist the Chinese yuan OTC marketplace after December 31.

Further, the exchange said it will restrict the access for mainland China customers but does not indicate if it will retire all China-based accounts.

"If the platform finds out mainland China users, Binance will restrict such accounts to the withdrawal-only mode. Users will only be able to withdraw assets, cancel orders, redeem or close positions," Binance said in the statement.

The move follows Binance's largest rival in China Huobi, which said it will not only suspend the Chinese yuan OTC marketplace but also retire all the customers who are verified with mainland China IDs. 

Binance's move also adds to a long list of responses from crypto companies that suggest China's escalated crackdown measures last month have been taken seriously.

BNB, the exchange token of Binance, dropped by about five percent shortly after the firm announced the news and is changing hands at $440 as of press time.