WeChat Appears to Censor Binance and Huobi Searches
The move comes after China’s top regulators called for more scrutiny of crypto information providers.
Updated May 11, 2023 at 5:19 p.m. UTC
![(Amed Ay/Unsplash)](https://www.coindesk.com/resizer/0i0lMBxE1U6bFeql4cKn0lcCsww=/567x378/filters:quality(80):format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/FUNC3NMWN5DTTEA7773IUUEIJ4.jpg)
China’s ubiquitous messaging platform WeChat appears to be censoring searches for “Binance” and “Huobi,” joining Weibo and Baidu.
- Searches in Chinese and English for “Binance” and “Huobi” are returned with a message saying “No more results,” CoinDesk staff confirmed early on Wednesday. Existing articles related to the exchanges on WeChat are largely still accessible.
- Back in June, Twitter-like social media platform Weibo and search engine Baidu started blocking searches for Binance, Huobi and OKEx.
- On Sept. 24, China’s regulators also called for increased scrutiny on companies that disseminate information related to crypto trading, along with a renewed crackdown on the sector.
- WeChat is China’s largest messaging platform and a key tool for broadcasting news and information.
- Binance announced today it is halting Chinese yuan trading for its consumer-to-consumer platform.
![A search for the Chinese name for Binance on Wednesday, Oct. 13. (Screenshot: CoinDesk/Eliza Gkritsi)](https://www.coindesk.com/resizer/JaPCNawBeMF01-W5PMz2ig2-YLQ=/560x401/filters:quality(80):format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/SDJVAAM5MRHOFARTBSV3MTANZ4.jpg)