RenrenBit says co-founder Dong Zhao is 'not arrested' by Chinese police
RenrenBit, the top Chinese crypto over-the-counter (OTC) trading firm, has officially said that its co-founder Dong Zhao is "not arrested" by police, quashing rumors and reports from last week.
Calling those reports "fake," a RenrenBit spokesperson told The Block on Tuesday: "We solemnly declare that Mr. Zhao is not arrested. We can confirm that now he is assisting the police with inquiries."
The spokesperson declined to provide details of those inquiries. "Before the police complete the investigation, very sorry that we will not" offer additional information.
Last week, there were reports that Zhao is being held up by Chinese police, as the country's authorities move to crack down on illegal economic activities, including those involving crypto.
Last month, Chinese police reportedly froze around 4,000 bank accounts of crypto OTC traders as part of a broader investigation into illegal activities such as money laundering.
The RenrenBit reports created chaos in the crypto community, given the firm's dominant position in the Chinese OTC market. Just a week before those reports, 3,542 bitcoins (worth about $33 million at the time) were transferred from RenrenBit to an unknown wallet, according to Whale Alert.
It is worth noting that Chinese regulators are yet to greenlight peer-to-peer (P2P) and OTC crypto trading activities. The country's regulators moved to ban centralized crypto exchanges in September 2017. However, Chinese citizens can still buy crypto via P2P platforms or OTC trading desks.
