[2017-07-07] Bitcoin can be an asset but not a currency, says China central bank

[White sugar]

Virtual currencies like bitcoin are assets but bitcoin in itself does not have the fundamental attributes needed to be a currency that could meet modern economic development needs, a Chinese central bank adviser said.

Sheng Songcheng, adviser to the People's Bank of China (PBOC), made the comments in an interview with financial magazine Yicai published late Thursday.
"Bitcoin does not have the fundamental attributes needed to be a currency as it is a string of code generated by complex algorithms...But I do not deny that virtual currencies have technical value and are a type of asset," he said.

His comments come after the Chinese central bank increased scrutiny of the country's bitcoin exchanges earlier this year, a move that prompted the companies to stop margin lending, introduced trading fees and issue rules to rein in users.

Many governments around the world are still mulling how to regulate and classify bitcoin, whose value surged in June to hit a record just shy of $3,000. China has classified it as a "virtual good".

Squaring in on bitcoin, Sheng said expectations that bitcoin supply would be capped in the year 2140 would make it difficult for it to become a medium of exchange that could meet modern economic development needs as money supply should be related to economic needs.

He also said that Chinese monetary authorities should study issuing a central bank virtual currency that it could regulate and run properly.



http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/06/bitcoin-can-be-an-asset-but-not-a-currency-says-china-central-bank-adviser.html

[Kprawn]

China are working on their own version of Bitcoin, so they will appose anything that might threaten their plans to have their own private Crypto

currency. Bitcoin as a currency will also hurt it's efforts to control capital flight and also the value of the Renminbi. A private Crypto currency will

give them even more control over their citizens. { They can block/monitor and manipulate Crypto currencies quicker than Fiat currencies } 

[richardsNY]

They can block/monitor and manipulate Crypto currencies quicker than Fiat currencies

Who cares? People are slowly getting to know what exactly makes Bitcoin a unique asset/tool in comparison to everything issued by the government. Bitcoin's decentralized nature will always be the ultimate advantage over any centralized digital currency issued by whatever government. The mass is looking to escape the governmental system they are basically stuck in, and for that reason I am fairly sure that people with enough understanding will always prefer Bitcoin.

[peter0425]

They can block/monitor and manipulate Crypto currencies quicker than Fiat currencies

Who cares? People are slowly getting to know what exactly makes Bitcoin a unique asset/tool in comparison to everything issued by the government. Bitcoin's decentralized nature will always be the ultimate advantage over any centralized digital currency issued by whatever government. The mass is looking to escape the governmental system they are basically stuck in, and for that reason I am fairly sure that people with enough understanding will always prefer Bitcoin.

But this is China that we are talking about here. Its not a free country and of course they will force their citizen to used the crypto's  against bitcoin. They have heavily put a heavy restrictions to those exchanges in there. So for me that's already taking control. And for whatever advantage bitcoin over their centralized government issued coin, it doesn't matter because they will force the population to get their coin instead of bitcoin.