PBOC Conducts Second Round of Exchange Meetings
PBOC officials meet again with Huobi, OKCoin, and BTC China, pressuring exchanges to issue warnings about trading volatility.
On January 11, 2017, People's Bank of China officials conducted a second round of meetings with executives from China's major Bitcoin exchanges including Huobi, OKCoin, and BTC China (BTCC). These follow-up meetings focused on specific compliance requirements and resulted in the exchanges agreeing to issue public warnings to their users about Bitcoin's price volatility and trading risks.
The PBOC was particularly concerned about retail investors using exchanges for speculative gambling rather than legitimate currency conversion, and wanted exchanges to discourage excessive trading behavior.
The pressure from these meetings was immediate and visible. Within hours, all three major exchanges published nearly identical risk warnings on their websites and social media channels, advising users about the dangers of Bitcoin price volatility and the speculative nature of cryptocurrency trading. This coordinated response demonstrated the PBOC's significant influence over these nominally private businesses and foreshadowed more stringent measures to come.
The exchanges understood that their continued operation depended on satisfying regulatory demands, even if those demands would significantly reduce their trading volumes and profitability.These meetings established a pattern of regulatory pressure followed by exchange compliance that would characterize the entire first quarter of 2017, culminating in the implementation of trading fees and withdrawal restrictions.