China’s dominant mobile payment platforms, Alipay and WeChat, have denied a cryptocurrency exchange founder’s assertion that they can be used to buy bitcoin, according to a Sina Technology report Thursday.

Alipay, owned by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, said in a microblog post that using its platform to buy cryptocurrency is “prohibited,” while WeChat also said that it “does not support” transactions involving digital currencies and encouraged users to report such illicit activity.

The rival platforms’ statements followed a tweet by Zhao Changpeng, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, suggesting that his business now accepts purchases through Alipay and WeChat. In a comment beneath Zhao’s tweet answering “YES” to another user’s question about whether Binance is now accepting the two mobile payment options, Alipay’s official account replied: “NO, you cannot.”

China’s central bank outlawed buying bitcoin in September 2017, bursting bubbles among speculators. However, some cryptocurrency exchanges offer coin-to-coin trading that can be exploited to skirt the ban. (Image: VCG)