EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC acquired by Hong Kong investment fund
Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC Technology Ltd. has been acquired by an unnamed Hong Kong-based blockchain investment fund.
The move will allow the company to expand into international markets following mainland China’s crackdown on all things cryptocurrency. Founded in 2011, BTCC was China’s oldest bitcoin exchange until it was forced to close its doors in September because of China’s ban on exchanges.
Following the ban, the company shifted to bitcoin-related services, including running a bitcoin mining pool and providing wallet services. But with China threatening to crack down further on any services related to cryptocurrency, including potentially mining, that may not have been a viable long-term business plan either, at least within China.
With the acquisition, the company will take its past experience and technology global. It had already registered in the U.K. and to offer bitcoin-to-U.S. dollar trading.
“We gathered ample experience, expertise and customer feedback over seven years of operating the longest-running and most trusted bitcoin exchange,” Aaron Choi, vice president of BTCC, said in a statement. “The acquisition gives us resources to more effectively apply our unparalleled industry knowledge to provide customers with the most accessible digital currency services.”
Although the Hong Kong blockchain investment fund that acquired BTCC was not named, there is a surprising reason behind that. According to Calvin Cheng, a Singaporean businessman and former Singaporean parliamentarian who advises the investment fund, the fund hasn’t “thought of an English name!”
“My PRC [People’s Republic of China] partners want a westernized name like First Blockchain Fund,” Cheng went on to say. “I disagree and think the China angle is good and wanna call it Dragon Blockchain Fund. Still arguing but the press release needs to come out !”
Image: BTCC
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