Chinese news reports that two of the country’s largest exchanges have been given an extra month to operate domestically. It appears OKCoin and Huobi will be allowed to continue offering services until October 31, 2017. This corresponded with an instant upswing in crypto markets with Bitcoin alone gaining $400 in just minutes. However, there is yet to be an official announcement from Beijing confirming the extended deadline.
Local news outlet Caixin reports that since OKCoin and Huobi have not performed any ICO operations, they will be allowed to continue offering services.
Meanwhile, OKCoin has issued a statement with regards to the impending regulations facing the industry. The post on their website today confirms the October deadline. In it, they announced the company’s short-term plans and affirmed their commitment to explore and fulfill all regulatory recommendations.
OKCoin’s International Customers to Remain Unaffected
Effective immediately is the suspension of new registrations, and additional deposits in RMB. The post also asserts that all funds deposited on OKCoin is completely safe, thanks to their 100% reserve system. They do however warn that withdrawals might take an abnormally long time, due to congestion. They have thus increased the processing time from 24 hours to 72 hours to account for the extra volume of transactions taking place. In addition, they ask customers to try and use their email support service where possible as queues for telephone support are understandably long. Finally, they reassure customers using services outside of China that they will remain unaffected.
In terms of users still holding coins, OKCoin has said that services will continue as normal. They will provide permanent free storage for users wishing to leave their money and private keys with them. In accordance with anti-money laundering requirements, all coins do need to complete a video verification. The site has imposed a limit of nine days on how long they will accept new video certifications. In order to ensure a smooth experience, it will be offering guidance to the customers on the platform.
Interestingly, the markets have responded quickly to the new developments. The good news, however small, caused a surge in buying of all cryptocurrencies with CoinMarketCap reporting double-figure hourly gains across the many assets and tokens amongst the top 100.
Ref: Ciaxin | OKCoin