[2016-12-14] Firstpost: Volatile Chinese stock market pushes BTC to 3Y high

Volatile Chinese stock market pushes bitcoin to its three-year high

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/volatile-chinese-stock-market-pushes-bitcoin-to-its-three-yeah-high-352760.html

Digital currency bitcoin on Tuesday surged to its highest in nearly three years as investors bought the asset in a supposedly safe-haven bid in the midst of volatility in the Chinese stock market. On Tuesday, bitcoin climbed as high $793.27 BTC=BTSP on the BitStamp platform, its highest since February 2014. Since August this year, bitcoin has soared 70 percent.

Darin Stanchfield, founder and chief executive officer of bitcoin wallet KeepKey said bitcoin has benefited from uncertainty in the Chinese stock market. Mainland Chinese markets have been on the defensive the last two days due to a widely-anticipated interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Chinese stock markets though did finish higher on Tuesday.

“Bitcoin has become a safe haven, though not like a mainstream safe haven. We have been seeing lots of volume from China and also India,” Stanchfield said. According to digital currency research firm Coindesk, 95 percent of global bitcoin trading is done through Chinese exchanges. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be moved money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for a central authority. That makes it attractive to those seeking to get around strict capital controls in countries like China.