On July 8, many Binance users found out that the website had been banned in China.
The exchange's mobile app is also inaccessible due to backend API calls being blocked, according to cryptocurrency blogger Colin Wu.
On the evening of July 8, Beijing time, many users found that the Binance APP appear to be blocked in China and must use a VPN to log in.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 8, 2021
The country’s “great firewall” now prevents users from accessing the cryptocurrency exchange, meaning that it can only be visited with the help of a virtual private network (VPN) service.
Notably, Binance's rivals, such as Huobi and OKEx, are still available in China.
Alex DovbnyaAs reported by U.Today, keyword searches for Binance and other popular cryptocurrency exchanges got blacklisted by Chinese internet services in early June.
The Binance ban is part of China’s major crypto crackdown, which also included eradicating the country’s entire Bitcoin mining industry last month.
The world’s largest exchange was initially headquartered in China but then had to move abroad due to the 2017 crypto ban.
Binance is also facing severe regulatory scrutiny around the world. Multiple U.K. banks blocked payments to the trading platform earlier this week.
Godfrey Benjamin
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov