100,000 Bitcoin Shifted by Huobi Miners After Chinese Ban, Possibly to Cover Huobi Client Withdrawals
According to analytics data provided by IntoTheBlock, the Huobi Bitcoin mining pool, the eighth largest in the world, has shifted almost 100,000 BTC, following the Chinese government's recent crackdown on the crypto industry.
Huobi miners shift 100,000 BTC
The team of on-chain data vendor IntoTheBlock has spread the word that the aftermath of Chinese authorities tightening crypto regulations recently has caused the eighth-largest Bitcoin mining pool in the world, Huobi, to transfer a whopping amount of Bitcoin.
The pool has shifted close to 100,000 BTC, which constitutes $4.21 billion in fiat. This is the largest amount transferred by miners since late December 2017—when Bitcoin hit an all-time high of nearly $20,000.
IntoTheBlock analysts believe that this major Bitcoin shift could have been done to cover the withdrawals requested by Huobi customers as they are moving BTC from the exchange to cold wallets.
The recent China regulation resulted in the eighth biggest #Bitcoin pool, Huobi pool, moving a large amount of their funds?
— IntoTheBlock (@intotheblock) September 28, 2021
Almost 100k $BTC ($4.21b) flowing out from miners, the largest since Dec 18, 2017 ‼️ Could it be to cover the client withdrawals needs on their exchange? pic.twitter.com/OeaH5o6cf7
Huobi is waving goodbye to all mainland China clients
As reported by U.Today over the weekend, the two largest cryptocurrency exchanges—Huobi and Binance—are facing tight pressure from mainland Chinese authorities at the moment.
Over the weekend, the news first came out that Huobi will suspend the registration of all new clients from mainland China and, the following day, the platform announced that it would gradually stop servicing all of its users from the region, yielding to pressure posed by the local government.
Binance is in the same position at the moment. According to Chinese crypto news outlet 8BTCnews, the world's biggest exchange by trading volume has stopped letting new clients from China jump on the platform.
Chinese exchanges closing down, but resigned employees are hired again
According to Chinese cryptocurrency journalist Colin Wu, Huobi and Binance are not the only exchanges that are facing regulatory pressure in China. BiKi exchange, which Huobi co-founder DuJun invested in, has announced its upcoming shutdown on Nov. 30. The platform plans to repurchase its native coin from users.
Colin Wu has also reported that, aside from BiKi, several Chinese exchanges have announced their closure. However, he tweeted that headhunters are starting to make offers to employees who have resigned from those platforms as more institutions continue to work in the crypto sphere and expand it.
Software engineers are particularly wanted by companies in the crypto industry, he added.
In the past few days, a few exchanges and institutions in China announced the closure. But today some headhunters are recruiting employees who have been resigned. More institutions choose to continue working in the crypto industry and expand the global market.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 28, 2021