Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group will be banning the sales of cryptocurrency mining equipment and accessories on its websites. The company said the ban is meant to comply with the new regulations banning crypto-related activities such as crypto mining and trading.
Alibaba said Wednesday that it will be removing two categories from its e-commerce website - blockchain miners and blockchain miner accessories. The removal of the categories means that sellers will no longer be able to sell "illegal" cryptocurrency mining equipment, software, tutorials, and strategies on the website.
Alibaba also said that it will be banning the sale of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and QuarkCoin. Analysts pointed out that the announcement is strange since the company does not appear to sell crypto on its e-commerce website.
The company said that the measures are necessary to adhere to various regulatory requirements. Alibaba said the decision is to comply with rules such as a 2015 notice concerning the prevention of risks associated with cryptocurrencies and a 2017 mandate to prevent financial risks related to initial coin offerings or ICOs.
Alibaba said its new policy will take full effect on Oct. 8. For now, cryptocurrency mining products are still present on its website. Once the rule takes effect, listings of cryptocurrency mining products and accessories will be removed. Accounts that fail to remove affected listings will incur point deductions, additional restrictions, and possible closures.
The ban is the latest move made by a major tech company to comply with China's wider crackdown on cryptocurrency activities. Chinese regulators recently imposed a blanket ban on all activities related to crypto. This includes the banning of overseas companies from offering Chinese users crypto-related services. The ban prompted exchanges such as Huobi Global and Binance to remove accounts on its platforms opened by mainland China users. Other crypto companies, including crypto wallet company TokenPocket have also announced plans to cut off mainland Chinese customers.
Since China began its campaign to eliminate crypto-related activities, crypto companies in the country have either shut down or moved abroad. The ban had also caused a mass exodus of crypto mining operators out of the country.
