China's WeChat crackdown drives bitcoin devotees to Telegram

[HONG KONG] WeChat is starting to see its first wave of defectors: Chinese cryptocurrency afficionados.

The country's crackdown on bitcoin and WeChat, the nation's dominant messaging app, is sending users of both to Telegram and other encrypted services banned in the country.

With administrators personally liable for what is said on groups they run, users of bitcoin exchanges OKCoin, Huobi and BTCChina are migrating to services beyond the Chinese government's reach.

On Telegram they are popping up to discuss everything from how to transfer their digital tokens overseas to more effective ways to protect privacy, to initial coin offerings (ICOs).

The new rules on message groups have delivered a rare setback for WeChat, which permeates the daily life of 963 million users and underpins Shenzhen-based Tencent Holdings Ltd's US$400 billion market valuation.

The crackdown has converged with a tightening on digital currencies as China declared ICOs illegal, dampened cryptocurrency trading and is said to consider a ban on domestic bitcoin exchanges.

"It's partially due to fears of bitcoin oversight, but I think it has more to do with the new rules on WeChat," said Jake Smith, general manager at bitcoin.com, who manages a 500 people English language group on WeChat.

Mr Smith, a US national, said he has been asked by another Chinese group owner whether he could replace the person as administrator, due to beliefs that foreigners are exempt from the new regulations.

Tencent spokeswoman Jane Yip didn't respond to a request for comment.

The crackdown on bitcoin has seen BTCChina, Shanghai's largest exchange, say it would halt trading by the end of September. Some over-the-counter platforms, including those operated by Bitkan, suspended services this week.

Cryptocurrency groups on WeChat have been quick to disband and mushroom overnight on Telegram. While there are no figures on how many people have done so, at least 30 such groups have appeared, with some already attracting more than 1,000 users in a single room, mostly speaking Chinese. OKCoin, Huobi and BTCChina's telegram groups are not officially run by the companies, according to the notices.

BLOOMBERG