Sina Weibo, one of the most prominent Chinese social media platforms, has banned 80 influencer accounts advocating bitcoin activities, citing official legislation.

Weibo "proactively removed" 80 crypto influencer profiles with over 8 million cumulative followers, according to the September 5 notice.

For their participation in promoting cryptocurrency, the accounts were accused of violating eight statutes connected to telecommunications, finance, banking, online marketing, securities, exchanges, and internet safety.

Since China's cryptocurrency prohibition went into effect in September 2021, the platform has been periodically purging crypto accounts. Weibo deleted 131 accounts associated with cryptocurrency and stock trading in March.

The most nationwide crackdown happened in August 2022, when the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) terminated 12,000 influencer accounts associated to cryptocurrency on Weibo and Baidu and erased 51,000 related promotional posts.

The CAC wrote in its defense of the decision:

"[The purpose is to] protect the property safety of the people in accordance with the law and to remind the majority of netizens to establish correct investment concepts, enhance risk prevention awareness, refrain from participating in virtual currency trading hype activities, and beware of personal property damage."

Similarly, in its earlier enforcement action, Weibo stated:

“We will continue to increase the crackdown on illegal securities activities that exist on the platform and strictly control related violations of laws and regulations, and we will never tolerate them.”

China has been cracking down on private crypto-related activity since this year, owing to a combination of capital flight, money laundering, and the desire to safeguard its state-run crypto endeavors. Some of these efforts have had unintended consequences for non-Chinese investors.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/80-chinese-crypto-influencer-accounts-shut-down-latest-crackdown

https://weibo.com/1191965271/M0d6cx30s

https://news.cnstock.com/news,bwkx-202303-5029221.htm

https://weibo.com/1191965271/M0d6cx30s

https://news.cnstock.com/news,bwkx-202303-5029221.htm