In a move that many have seen as following through the directive by China to proscribe the trading of digital tokens within its borders, WeChat has frozen accounts seen to be publishing content related to cryptocurrencies.

As reported by Caixin, a local financial news provider in China, WeChat has permanently axed accounts that promote crypto trading. It said that the information peddled by the accounts infringes on the official position of the communist government as relates to initial coin offerings (ICO).

Tencent, the telecommunications company that owns the WeChat App, has been quoted by Caixin explaining that the move was within the law. The tech giant revealed that the banned accounts are suspected of peddling information related to ICO hype in direct contravention of ”Interim Provisions on the Development of Public Information Services for Instant Messaging Tools.”

The interim provisions are part of the wider effort by the government to curtail the flow of information pertaining to cryptocurrencies through social media apps. It seems, according to Quartz, that if people want to learn about blockchain technology, they will have to do it through official channels.

There are reports that this month, the government of China published a blockchain guide for officials that is intended to educate them about the government’s position on the distributed ledger technology.

Broad action targeting industrial media                       

The Asia Times reports that some of the affected firms have cried foul, terming the move a “broad action targeting industrial media.”

Huobi, which is the world’s fourth largest crypto exchange by volume relocated from China to Singapore following China’s crypto ban. The company has protested the banning of its account on WeChat alongside others like Jinse and Binance.

According to reports, the most affected are the members of the cryptocurrency community that reside in China. The cryptocurrency news outlets have been a major source of information to the over 350,000 daily traders in China. It is reported that only last year, over $1.2 million was raised by Jinse Caijing through token sales.

However, some analysts have attributed the heavy-handedness by the government of China to its plans to establish a digital token of its own. The government has continued with research into blockchain technology even as it bans its use by civilians.