China introduces new anti-anonymity rules for companies linked to Blockchain

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The Chinese cybernetics administration (CAC) has introduced new rules for blockchain companies operating in the country. The announcement was posted on the regulator's website Thursday, January 10th.

According to the CAC, the guidelines, which will come into force on 15 February, have been developed to contribute to the healthy development of the sector.

The document describes companies subject to regulations such as websites or mobile apps that provide information and technical support to the public using blockchain technologies. As soon as the regulations come into force, they will be obliged to register their names, domains and server addresses at the CAC within 20 days.

The guidelines require blockchain startups to allow authorities to access archived data and to introduce registration procedures that would require identity card or mobile numbers from their users. Furthermore, they will be obliged to check the contents and to censor the information forbidden by the Chinese law in force.

If a company does not comply with the regulations, it could suffer fines of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan ($ 2,900 and $ 4,400, respectively). In the case of series crimes, the company could be subjected to a criminal investigation.

China published for the first time the guidelines for blockchain companies in October, which also contained recommendations that sought to eliminate anonymity in blockchain.

At the time, the Asian newspaper The South China Morning Post wrote of an open anonymous letter that reported sexual harassment in one of the best Chinese universities that was published on the Ethereum blockchain (ETH) in April. The press agency believes that the publication of the letter could be a motivation behind the new regulations.

China is currently piloting blockchain legislation mainly in three regions: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. According to a December report by the Securities Daily, local finance, there are 11 blockchain-related policy projects concentrated in these areas.

Meanwhile, the country has confirmed a de facto ban on home encryption since 2017, which was completed in February 2018 when the government added international cryptographic exchanges and the first coin-supply sites (ICOs) to its Great Firewall. The decision was approved by the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the country and the regulatory authorities.

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