China’s Never-Ending War on Bitcoin PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

China’s Never-Ending War on Bitcoin

The context of the current “crackdown”

China’s Never-Ending War on Bitcoin PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.
Photo by Marco Verch via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

In December 2013, Chinese regulators barred banks from handling transactions involving bitcoin, referring to it as a “virtual good” that shouldn’t be used as currency. Outside of the banking sector, however, markets continued to flourish, and by November 2015 over 90% of global bitcoin trades were being conducted in renminbi. It wasn’t until September 2017, on the backdrop of a crackdown on overseas capital flight and a global surge in the popularity of ICOs, that bitcoin came back into focus.

Source: Plus Token Singapore via Facebook

While crypto trading was the primary focus of 2017, mining has entered the crosshairs in years since.

Coin Metrics

The Bitcoin Dilemma — ban it, but don’t “ban” it

While the Chinese central government has for years sought increased control over the flow of capital within its economy, cryptocurrency pushes in the opposite direction. Its decentralized and anonymous nature means individuals across the globe can conduct transactions entirely outside of official channels. This lack of control is especially concerning given the government’s current attempts to stem capital outflow from the country. While M&A and real estate previously served as useful channels for wealthy Chinese to park money abroad, closer oversight of such activities makes crypto an attractive new safe haven.

Source: https://medium.com/predict/chinas-never-ending-war-on-bitcoin-4a5bba6452e3?source=rss——-8—————–cryptocurrency

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