Crypto Bourse Binance Says No China Office Amid Raid Rumors
Crypto Exchange Binance Says No Shanghai Office Amid Raid Rumors
(Bloomberg) -- Binance Holdings Ltd., operator of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said it doesn’t have any “fixed offices in Shanghai or China” amid rumors that police raided the facilities in the nation’s biggest city.
“Any reports of a police raid are false,” a spokesperson for Malta-based Binance said in an email. “We do not have an office in Shanghai.”
The speculation, being spread on Twitter, is likely partly responsible for Bitcoin’s drop of as much as 8.4% Thursday, according to Nic Carter, co-founder of researcher Coin Metrics.
Bitcoin broke below $8,000 Thursday for the first time in nearly a month as its seven-day sell-off continued. The coin also slipped beyond its 200-day moving average line, an event considered to be a sell signal by some analysts.
While China as recently as last month said it may start to embrace the blockchain technology that supports cryptocurrencies, it has since taken steps to curb trading. Watchdogs in Shanghai, for instance, issued notices calling for a cleanup of companies involved in trading of digital assets, while one in Beijing warned against illegal exchange operations.
Binance doesn’t have offices in China, and its team -- distributed through more than 40 countries -- works from home, cafes or out of WeWork, the spokeswoman said.
CEO Zhao Changpeng said on Twitter there was “no police, no raid, no office.”
--With assistance from Joanna Ossinger.
To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at okharif@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Rita Nazareth
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