BTC China (BTCC)

Organization

An early Chinese Bitcoin exchange. Its CEO, Bobby Lee, was influential in convincing CZ to invest in Bitcoin.


First Mentioned

2/14/2026, 3:14:23 AM

Last Updated

2/14/2026, 3:35:57 AM

Research Retrieved

2/14/2026, 3:35:57 AM

Summary

BTC China (BTCC) is one of the world's oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, founded in June 2011 by Bobby Lee, Yang Linke, and Huang Xiaoyu. Originally based in Shanghai, it rose to prominence as the world's largest exchange by volume in November 2013, supported by a $5 million Series A funding round from Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Following the Chinese government's ban on initial coin offerings and tightening regulations in 2017, BTCC ceased its domestic trading operations and was acquired by a Hong Kong-based investment firm in early 2018. The exchange has since pivoted to focus on crypto derivatives and futures trading, operating under international licenses in jurisdictions like the Seychelles and Lithuania. Notably, co-founder Bobby Lee played a pivotal role in the industry's history by introducing Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to Bitcoin. As of 2025, the company is led by CEO Dan Liu and has expanded its brand presence through partnerships with figures like NBA player Jaren Jackson Jr.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Founded

    2011-06-01

  • Founders

    Bobby Lee, Yang Linke, Huang Xiaoyu

  • Industry

    Cryptocurrency Exchange

  • Headquarters

    Hong Kong (Current); Shanghai, China (Historical)

  • Key Products

    Crypto futures, perpetual contracts, copy trading, spot trading

  • Series A Funding

    5,000,000 USD

  • Regulatory Status

    Licensed in Seychelles and Lithuania

Timeline
  • BTCC is founded as BTC China by Bobby Lee, Yang Linke, and Huang Xiaoyu. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2011-06-01

  • The company incorporates in Shanghai and Bobby Lee becomes CEO. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2013-01-01

  • BTCC becomes the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume and secures $5 million in Series A funding. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2013-11-01

  • BTCC temporarily suspends Chinese yuan deposits following regulatory statements from the People's Bank of China. (Source: Bitcoinwiki)

    2013-12-18

  • The exchange resumes accepting yuan deposits through corporate bank accounts. (Source: Bitcoinwiki)

    2014-01-30

  • BTCC ceases all trading operations in China due to the government ban on ICOs and crypto trading. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2017-09-30

  • The company is acquired by an unnamed investment firm based in Hong Kong. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2018-01-01

  • Dan Liu is appointed as the new CEO of BTCC. (Source: HackerNoon)

    2025-05-21

  • BTCC announces its first major sports sponsorship with NBA player Jaren Jackson Jr. (Source: HackerNoon)

    2025-08-13

BTCC (company)

BTC & Crypto (BTCC) is a cryptocurrency exchange established in 2011. Incorporated in 2013 in Shanghai, it became the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume globally in November 2013. It ceased trading in China in 2017 due to regulatory changes by the Chinese government and was purchased in 2018 by an investment firm in Hong Kong.

Web Search Results
  • BTCC - Trade Bitcoin & Crypto - Ratings & Reviews - App Store

    BTCC is one of the longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges, originally founded in 2011, and it has built a reputation around stability and derivatives trading. The platform is best known for its crypto futures and perpetual contracts, offering high leverage options that appeal to experienced traders looking to capitalize on market volatility. BTCC’s interface is clean and relatively easy to navigate, even for users new to derivatives, while still providing advanced tools such as risk management features and real-time charts.Security is a strong point, with cold wallet storage, multi-signature protection, and a solid track record compared to many newer exchanges. BTCC also supports copy trading, allowing beginners to follow professional traders, which lowers the learning curve. However, [...] the first Chinese exchange in 2011 and the longest in the world, is an exchange that has never had security problems, keeps the funds in a cold storage system, has more than 60 altcoins in addition to BTC and accepts U.S. dollars through bank transfers, Crypto Capital and credit / debit cards. [...] BTCC is the first exchange I knew when I started trading with cryptocurrencies, is a very secure and reliable platform, offers major digital currencies and some altcoin at a competitive rate, stores the funds of its users in a wallet and has the option of 2-factor authentication. Every day more and more users like me put their trust in this excellent exchange, offers a web version and a mobile app, has graphics of different types that help to make a very detailed technical analysis, there is also a solution for merchants, has more than 60 altcoins that are paired with 2 cryptocurrecies base that are BTC and Ether, accepts fiat money by credit or debit card and bank transfers. BTCC is currently one of the best exchanges, was the first Chinese exchange in 2011 and the longest in the

  • BTCC Review - Key features, services, reputation

    ## What Is BTCC? BTCC is a cryptocurrency exchange website started back in 2011 by Bobby Lee, which makes it one of the oldest exchanges available today. Started initially in China, BTCC became popular for the fiat-to-crypto services it provided and was at the core of China’s initial adoption of the cryptocurrency. Through the passage of the years, the website transformed as per the regulations and then relocated the headquarters to Hong Kong. Today, the exchange specializes exclusively in cryptocurrency futures trades and operates as BTCC Exchange Limited. While it does not offer fiat-traded pairs anymore, the platform gives the user base access to a full spectrum of crypto derivatives, with a focus specifically on contracts settled in USDT and levered trades. [...] BTCC now operates regulated licenses in jurisdictions like the Seychelles and Lithuania. The licenses enable the exchange to serve international users while sticking to the minimum guidelines of compliance such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. Main Features of the BTCC Exchange BTCC strives to provide a secure and convenient-to-use trading experience for futures traders. The following are the major features which define the platform as it exists today: Crypto Futures Trading BTCC trades perpetual and quarterly futures contracts. Clients can buy and sell contracts involving Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as well as a number of other altcoins. Each trade settles in Tether (USDT), which acts as a stable settlement reference point. [...] ## Conclusion BTCC is a classic crypto exchange that has made a name for itself as a contender in the futures arena. As a result, it has a long history, a robust set of users, and multi-contract capabilities, which make it a serious contender among traders focused entirely on levered crypto positions. Though perhaps not as flashy as newer exchanges, the comparative lack of frills and security-minded mindset have a lot of appeal to a thin segment of the marketplace. As always, participants need to have an understanding of the dangers of taking on and use appropriate risk management methods. BTCC provides you with the tools – you decide how you use them.

  • BTCC (company) - Wikipedia

    ### 2011–2017: Company beginnings [edit&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: 2011–2017: Company beginnings")] BTCC was founded by Bobby Lee, Yang Linke, and Huang Xiaoyu in 2011. Initially, it was a part-time project for Lee. BTCC (then known as BTC China) incorporated in 2013 and acquired investors, established a headquarters in Shanghai, and had 20 employees. Lee became chief executive officer. Usage of BTCC increased following the elimination of trading fees and it became the largest bitcoin exchange by volume in the world in November 2013. That month, BTCC received US$5 million in Series A funding from Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. [...] Cryptocurrency exchange company in the UK BTCC | Trade name | BTCC | | Formerly | BTC China | | Industry | Cryptocurrency exchange | | Founded | June 2011 | | Founder | Huang Xiaoyu Yang Linke Bobby C. Lee | | Area served | Worldwide | | Key people | Dan Liu (CEO) | | Website | www.btcc.com | BTC & Crypto (BTCC) is a cryptocurrency exchange established in 2011. Incorporated in 2013 in Shanghai, it became the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume globally in November 2013. It ceased trading in China in 2017 due to regulatory changes by the Chinese government and was purchased in 2018 by an investment firm in Hong Kong. ## History [edit&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: History")] ### 2011–2017: Company beginnings [...] BTCC stopped all trading in China in September 2017 following an announcement by the People's Bank that the country would ban initial coin offerings. The company was purchased by an unnamed firm in Hong Kong in January 2018. Portions of its services were registered in the United Kingdom. BTCC was among 16 foreign cryptocurrency businesses lacking the proper registration to operate in South Korea in 2022. An intelligence unit of the Financial Services Commission "Financial Services Commission (South Korea)") reported the businesses to the nation's investigative body and asked other agencies to block access to the firms' local websites. Dan Liu became CEO of BTCC in May 2025. The same year, the company made Jaren Jackson Jr. a brand ambassador. ## References

  • BTC China - Bitcoinwiki

    Company CEO Bobby Lee approached the then two-person company in early 2013, and after investing his own money and attracting investors, oversaw the company’s rapid expansion and marketshare growth by the end of the year. The Stanford University computer science graduate, whose brother founded the cryptocurrency Litecoin, previously worked for Yahoo! in the United States, and for Walmart China as Vice President of Technology. In November 2013, BTCChina raised $5 million in Series A funding from investors Lightspeed China Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. [...] ## Contents ## History Chinese BTCC was registered in Hong Kong, Kowloon city and has been operating since 2011. The activity of the exchange was high until fatal 2013, when in December, the Chinese government at the legislative level banned the use of cryptocurrencies, as well as any operations with them on the territory of the country. The sanctions hit and the BTCC. [...] On 18 December 2013, BTCChina announced that it was temporarily suspending acceptance of Chinese yuan deposits, attributing the decision to government regulations, following a 5 December statement from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). On 30 January 2014, the exchange resumed accepting yuan deposits, after further studying the PBOC statement and other rules. While the PBOC prohibited banks from trading in Bitcoin, BTCChina explained that they were accepting yuan into their corporate bank account, and transferring that money to their customer accounts, before it was traded for bitcoins.

  • How BTCC Scaled from 2 Million to 10 Million Users While Building ...

    How Myriad and Trust Wallet Built the First Native Prediction Market for 220M Users ### About Author Ishan Pandey@ishanpandey Building and Covering the latest events, insights and views in the AI and Web3 ecosystem. Read my storiesLearn More #### Comments #### TOPICS web3#web3#cryptocurrency#good-company#btcc#btcc-news#startup#growth#crypto-exchange #### THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN ArweaveViewBlockTerminalLiteArchivesXMas #### Related Stories #WEB3-GAMING ## $2M Backing and a Vision: How GAM3S.GG is Reshaping Web3 Gaming Ishan Pandey Sep 07, 2023 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Appoints Dan Liu As CEO Ahead Of 14th Anniversary Milestone Chainwire May 21, 2025 #BTCC ## Inside BTCC: What 14 Years of Crypto Taught BTCC, and What Comes Next Ishan Pandey May 26, 2025 #WEB3 [...] Ishan Pandey May 26, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Celebrates 14th Anniversary With Launch Of First-Ever User Badge Program Chainwire Jun 18, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC.Com Exchange Review: We traded $100,000 On 14 Year Old Veteran Crypto Exchange Ishan Pandey Jun 30, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Announces First Sports Sponsorship With NBA’s Jaren Jackson Jr. Chainwire Aug 13, 2025 #WEB3-GAMING ## $2M Backing and a Vision: How GAM3S.GG is Reshaping Web3 Gaming Ishan Pandey Sep 07, 2023 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Appoints Dan Liu As CEO Ahead Of 14th Anniversary Milestone Chainwire May 21, 2025 #BTCC ## Inside BTCC: What 14 Years of Crypto Taught BTCC, and What Comes Next Ishan Pandey May 26, 2025 #WEB3 [...] Ishan Pandey May 26, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Celebrates 14th Anniversary With Launch Of First-Ever User Badge Program Chainwire Jun 18, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC.Com Exchange Review: We traded $100,000 On 14 Year Old Veteran Crypto Exchange Ishan Pandey Jun 30, 2025 #WEB3 ## BTCC Exchange Announces First Sports Sponsorship With NBA’s Jaren Jackson Jr. Chainwire Aug 13, 2025 ## Light-Mode ## Dark-Mode ### Neon Noir ### Minty ### HN StartUps