Good day everyone,
I hope you are all having a good day, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the news of a crackdown in China with Web3 developers having their devices searched.
Web3 Devs’ Devices Searched in China Crackdown
Some unconfirmed reports have noted that police in Hangzhou, China, have targetted Web3 developers as part of a crackdown. This has drawn sharp reactions from China’s Web3 industry and shows the divide between insiders regarding the level of overreach and scope of the law enforcement within the city.
On the 9th of June Mirror Tang, founder of the decentralized proving network ZEROBASE, shared that a number of crypto professionals in Hangzhou were being asked to report to local police stations for questioning. His post noted that people were being asked to bring laptops and phones as the police were intending to use forensic devices to extract their chat history, wallet records, and development files.
It was described by Tang that the investigations were informal and there were no legal summons or search warrants issued. He did note that the police focused on those with roles related to token insurance, fundraising, and operations. It was noted that the situation could possibly be considered a possible trial effort tied to Hangzhou’s status as a digital finance governance zone.
The CEO of Nano Labs, Jack Kong, pushed back against the sudden overeach by the state:
“To my knowledge, neither Zhejiang nor Hangzhou has taken any special actions against blockchain professionals. Any individual cases may be related to anti-fraud efforts. If anyone has concerns, you’re welcome to move into the Hangzhou-Hong Kong Science and Technology Building, this is the home of the Web3 industry in Hangzhou.”
Members of the crypto community in China have voiced their concern as EnHeng, who previously worked at ZEROBASE and is familiar with the parties involved, criticized the public claims. He emphasized that unrelated teams like YZi Labs should not be drawn into speculation and stated:
“It’s heartbreaking. [Kong’s] years of work were largely ruined because someone casually rode the project’s hype.”
While there has been no official confirmation of these actions the community are divided on whether or not a systemic enforcement action occurred or if it was an isolated incident. With uncertainty surrounding the Hangzhou incident, legal ambiguity remains a persistent concern for crypto professionals in mainland China.
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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