Chinese Authorities in the city of Shenzhen have identified 39 illegally operating cryptocurrency exchanges which they intend to crack down on. 

According to a report by local news outlet Sanyan Finance on Nov. 22, authorities in the city of Shenzhen intend to take action against 39 cryptocurrency exchanges which are operating illegally in spite of China’s ban on trading cryptoassets.

The report details a joint operation between authorities and government bodies, including participation from China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China and the Economic Investigation Bureau of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

While the report did not specify the punishment for illegally operating crypto exchanges, the crackdown is expected to send a message to other platforms trading crypto assets. 

According to the news stories, the joint government effort will focus on three aspects, 

First, providing virtual currency trading services or opening virtual currency trading places in China; second, providing service channels for overseas virtual currency trading places, including services such as drainage and agency trading; Sell ​​tokens in various names, raise funds for investors or virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

News of the crackdown follows just a day after it was rumored that police had raided Binance’s office in Shanghai. However, the crypto exchange denied the report, with CEO Changpeng Zhao taking to Twitter to voice his support for cleaning up the “industry of scammers and fraudster.”

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