Chinese search giant Baidu to ban crypto discussions on its forums

Answer: Baidu (Image: Reuters)

Chinese search giant Baidu is joining Alibaba and Tencent in a move aimed to distance itself from cryptocurrency-related activities.

According to a report by Coindesk, Baidu is distancing itself from cryptocurrencies amid China’s crackdown. It is planning to censor and ban forum topics that discuss crypto-related activities on Baidu Tieba, the firm's Reddit-like online community business.

Some of its most popular cryptocurrency-related forums such as Post Bar services have recently shut-down. Among the forums that are taken down are “Digital Currency Bar” and “Virtual Currency Bar”. Baidu has toughened its scrutiny and will not allow sub-forums under this theme.

China began its crackdown on cryptocurrencies in September last year when it banned domestic cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings from the country. This move forced various companies to move abroad.

Authorities in the country are set to block access to 124 cryptocurrency-related websites in the country to stop Chinese citizens from trading crypto.

The search giant’s move comes shortly after Tencent and Alibaba revealed they were cracking down on crypto. Baidu’s forum business was launched back in 2003 and notably has over 300 million monthly active users.

As according to a recent report, cryptocurrency market cap has dropped from a high of about USD 800 billion to USD 215 billion.