BTC China Launches USD

Shanghai-based bitcoin and litecoin exchange BTC China has announced the launch of USD and HKD deposits and withdrawals, becoming the latest China-based exchange to publicly extend its services to the international community. The news follows Beijing-based OKCoin's announcement at The North American Bitcoin Conference (TNABC) that it would be adding USD deposits this week as part of a broad push to court an international market that, for now, remains absent of large, professional US exchanges.

Updated account offerings BTC China indicated that the move was its first step in what could be broader support for additional currencies, as exchange users had been previously limited to deposits and withdrawals in Chinese yuan. As such, the company expects the new offerings to resonate in its home market. Current users who want to take advantage of the newly supported currencies will need to open an international account in addition to a domestic account, the company said. Hong Kong emphasis increases The announcement also finds BTC China leveraging its position in Asia to work around the restrictions imposed in China. The company says all orders on the service will be processed via its registered Hong Kong affiliate, as Hong Kong has to date been more accommodating to digital currency businesses due to its status as a special administrative region. The Chinese bitcoin market has faced continued uncertainty in recent months, following statements from the country's central bank, the People's Bank of China, that aimed to separate the companies from the traditional financial services sector.