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Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant has started deleting all cryptocurrency-related services off of its website. The move followed the Chinese government's crackdown on cryptocurrencies.

On Monday, Alibaba announced that its e-commerce platform will stop the sales of cryptocurrency miners and remove blockchain miners and accessories categories from the website on October 8, 2021. Furthermore, Alibaba will prohibit the sale of crypto tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and other altcoins such as Quark (QRK). 

According to the same announcement the ban isn’t limited to crypto mining materials. In fact, tutorials, courses, guides will also be banned from the platform.

The Chinese e-commerce giant has warned its users that listing crypto-related products on Alibaba’s platform after October 15 will result in penalties under applicable rules. It includes freezing and closing the merchant accounts as well as blocking stores. The company noted that the policy changes followed issues in listing products and handling transactions.

 “Members have responsibility for complying with relevant laws and regulations applicable to any country of sale. We will keep track of policy changes in each country and adjust our control policies accordingly,” the company stated. 

Crypto mining firms and exchanges shutdown

The move by Alibaba came fast after the government of China announced new measures to ban the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Last Friday, the Asian country has announced that crypto-related transactions are illegal.

Consequently, major crypto exchange platforms like Huobi and Binance stopped their operations in mainland China. Meanwhile, the largest Ethereum mining pool in the world “Sparkpool” announced a total shutdown of all its operations in the country. 

“Whilst this is not a surprise as China has ‘banned’ crypto many times in the past, this time there is no ambiguity,” tweeted PricewaterhouseCoopers crypto leader Henri Arslanian. “Crypto transactions and crypto services of all kinds are banned in China. No room for discussion. No grey areas.”