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Prominent China-based bitcoin exchange OKCoin joins Hong Kong-based Bitfinex in freezing wire transfers, citing ‘issues’ with intermediary banks.
The announcement was visible on OKCoin users’ dashboards yesterday, 18th April, and has since been shared on public message boards, including Reddit.
The notice in its entirety reads:
Starting from today (April 18, 2017), Okcoin would temporarily suspend USD deposit because of the issues with intermediary banks. Please do not make further deposit [sic] because your wires may be rejected by intermediary banks. We are actively looking for alternatives to resume deposit [sic] as soon as possible. Your current account balance remains unaffected. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.
The move to freeze fiat deposits comes after Bitfinex, among the world’s major exchanges in trading volumes, announced bank wire transfers will no longer be processed, on Monday.
In a similar notice, Bitfinex confirmed all incoming fiat wire transfers would be blocked and refused by their Taiwanese banking partners. Taiwan is notably under the control of the Republic of China and not the People’s Republic of China. Last week, Bitfinex confirmed delays processing outbound USD wires, ultimately leading to the freeze of fiat deposits. The Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange adds that it is looking for “alternative solutions” for customers looking to deposit or withdraw in fiat currency.
BTC/USD prices on OKCoin have largely remained unaffected, with a high of $1,225.95 yesterday. At the time of publishing, bitcoin is trading to the dollar at $1,213.99 on OKCoin compared to $1,201.49 on GDAX. Bitcoin prices remain at a premium at Bitfinex with a $60 spread at $1,260.
OKCoin’s BTC/USD chart, via CryptoWatch.One of China’s ‘big three’ exchanges, OKCoin continues to see a freeze on Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals from February, revealed new guidelines to adhere to AML requirements set by regulatory authorities last week.
The mandate is nearly identical for both Chinese and international users with ‘enhanced due diligence’ methods including video verification calls for bitcoin and litecoin holders at OKCoin.
