By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 18th, 2024
Alibaba, through the announcement, stated that it is also taking into consideration the “instability of laws and regulations” on crypto around the globe and will not sanction third-party merchants who break the new rules until October 15.
Online retail giant Alibaba has revealed that it will halt the sales of cryptocurrency mining machines and equipment from its platform after China’s latest attempt to crack down on cryptocurrencies. Per the announcement from the Chinese e-commerce giant, the plan to stop the sales of crypto mining machines will go into effect from October 8, with the company citing recent pronouncements from China’s central bank as well as other oversight bodies in the Asian country leading to a renewed crackdown on cryptocurrency activities.
Alibaba, through the announcement, stated that it is also taking into consideration the “instability of laws and regulations” on crypto around the globe and will not sanction third-party merchants who break the new rules until October 15. However, any seller that lists such items on its platforms after the said date will face serious consequences.
The e-commerce giant also revealed that it is also contemplating prohibiting the sale of cryptocurrencies in addition to the ban on mining machines and related accessories, adding that all major coins including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and others will be of no exception.
An official statement from the company reads:
“After a thorough evaluation, taking into account the instability of laws and regulations on virtual currencies and relevant products in various international markets, Alibaba.com will prohibit the sale of virtual currency miners in addition to the prohibition against selling virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, BeaoCoin, QuarkCoin, and Ethereum, which include but are not limited to 1) Hardware and software used to obtain virtual currencies such as Bitcoin miners; 2) Tutorials, strategies, and software for obtaining virtual currencies such as tutorials on mining.”
The Chinese government is not a fan of cryptocurrency and has had it under their radar years ago. The country’s crackdown on cryptocurrencies activities started earlier this year in May, after a statement from its State Council. Several mining firms subsequently halted production in the country with some exiting after the announcement. Other firms such as the Hangzhou-based Sparkpool also had their production service shut down by the government.
Last week’s announcement has now left little to no room for crypto firms to function in the country as many have already started taking actions and planning their future without the Chinese market. Cryptocurrency exchanges including Binance and Huobi have also acted on restricting services for customers in China in the wake of the latest regulatory moves from the Chinese government.
Alibaba, which is China’s largest retailer, also operates several platforms in the country, including Taobao and the used goods marketplace Xianyu. The company also has subsidiaries across Asia including international online shopping platforms such as Aliexpress and Southeast Asia’s Lazada.