Ecommerce store Alibaba has announced that it will stop selling cryptocurrency mining equipment on its platforms on October 8. The decision came in response to the latest People’s Bank of China policy on crypto trading as well as a 2017 circular. The notice, signed by a number of China’s top financial regulators and published on Friday, banned all crypto-trading related activities in the country.
Alibaba has said that it is taking into account the “instability” of laws and regulations on crypto around the world. While the company may be withdrawing its at-home mining equipment listings now, if laws change, Alibaba may stock the equipment once again in the future.
The ecommerce platform will shut down two categories: “Blockchain miner accessories” and “Blockchain miners”. In addition to the ban on mining rigs and related accessories, Alibaba is also pursuing a prohibition on the sale of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and Quarkcoin.
Any sellers/merchants who list such items on Alibaba after October 15 will face sanctions.
Alibaba operates several platforms in China, including Taobao and used goods marketplace Xianyu. It is also the group behind international online shopping platforms like Aliexpress and South East Asia’s Lazada.
China’s intense crackdown on cryptocurrency started in May, 2021, after a State Council statement. The crackdown was mostly left to provincial and city authorities, with no publicly available policy plan. However, Friday’s policy announcement made it clear that all crypto transactions are banned from the country and that mining will be eliminated.
Under the search term “Bitcoin”, Alibaba currently lists over 75,000 products, stocking both new and second-hand mining equipment. The platform’s sales make it the third-largest ecommerce platform, after JD.com and Amazon. Alibaba has made it clear that any users found breaching the cryptocurrency ban could have their accounts removed and will face sanctions.
While the ban may come as a disappointment for some keen-miners, the ban on Alibaba’s crypto mining equipment could come as a blessing. It is no secret that much of the mining equipment sold on the ecommerce platform is a scam.
One reddit user, @IGotThisYo said (about buying mining equipment from the site), “There is a better chance that you will get scammed, lose the premium price of crypto you spent on them, and never receive your miner. Not even exaggerating, 99% of these sites are scams preying on noobs wanting to fomo into mining who don’t know any better. Only safe ways to buy are from the manufacturer, eBay with buyer protections, or in person. The mining space is plagued with scammers.”
Alibaba’s ban could see the end of these scammers.
