Chinese bitcoin exchanges put an end to loan-based trading

The central bank’s crackdown on bitcoin exchanges has forced two of the leading digital currency platforms in China to overhaul their service offerings.

OKCoin and Huobi announced that they are halting margin trading, per the requirements of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). On its website, Chinese language OKCoin said it is stopping margin trading services “immediately.”

“There will be no new margin trading transactions. Users [with] loans that have already taken place will not be forcibly asked to repay the debt. Users will no longer be able to apply for new loans after voluntarily repaying previous loans,” OKCoin stated.

Huobi issued a similar statement on its Weibo account on Thursday, while BTC China announced that the suspension of its margin loan trading feature last January 12.