Confusion Reigns in China as RenrenBit CEO Reportedly Detained by Police

Chinese media outlets are reporting that Zhao Dong, the head of over-the-counter (OTC) and crypto lending platform RenrenBit and a prominent Bitfinex investor has been taken in for questioning by police.

Per reports from media outlet BlockBeats and Chainnews, “rumors” are circulating in online communities about Zhao Dong, with many people claiming he has been taken into a police station in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province. However, other reports seem to claim he is in fact being grilled by police officers in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province.

The media outlets quote RenrenBit’s head of marketing as stating nothing appears to be amiss and that “all of [the company’s] staff have turned up for work as usual” on July 2.

The media reports also say that rumor has it the police are not investigating any potential wrongdoings on the part of RenrenBit – rather they are more interested in Zhao Dong’s private activities. Some social media users have claimed the case pertains to an “illegal crypto trading operation.”

As previously reported, Zhao Dong is one of China’s best-known OTC traders. According to previous reports, his blockchain investment firm DGroup was also mentioned among the shareholders of the Bitfinex exchange.

Zhao Dong is partially responsible for putting together the USD 1 billion Bitfinex LEO Token (LEO) initial exchange offering (IEO), with some claiming that the CEO’s “clout and network helped Bitfinex win back Chinese traders.”

China-based Sino Global Capital chief Matthew Graham took to Twitter to point out that it “seems confirmed” that the RenrenBit CEO has indeed been taken in for questioning.