According to Cointelegraph, Feixiaohao, a prominent cryptocurrency market data provider in China, is reportedly under investigation by local authorities. Several key executives of the company have allegedly been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation in Inner Mongolia, as reported by Chinese cryptocurrency journalist Colin Wu on his Wu Blockchain News channel on August 28.
Wu cited a report from a local crypto channel on WeChat, which mentioned that many key members of the Feixiaohao team have been taken away by the Inner Mongolia police for investigation. The reasons for the investigation remain unknown, and it has reportedly been ongoing for more than six months. Wu noted that many of Feixiaohao’s exchange partners have been unable to contact the company.
Feixiaohao, launched in August 2017, is often referred to as the Chinese version of CoinGecko, a major global platform for tracking the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies. Despite the ongoing investigation, the website has continued to post new articles, with the most recent dated August 30. Cointelegraph reached out to Feixiaohao for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Feixiaohao continued its operations even after China’s significant crackdown on cryptocurrency in 2021. According to SimilarWeb, the platform had around 200,000 monthly visits in July 2024, with China accounting for 23% of its global visits. This user base is notable given China's stringent stance on the cryptocurrency market.
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), enforced restrictive measures on the crypto market in September 2021 to limit crypto adoption. Despite these measures, many Chinese crypto news channels have continued to operate, raising questions about the legality of providing crypto information services in mainland China.