China and the cryptos! "Although Blockchain tech is openly praised in China, the country has arguably the most restrictive regulation in the world. For this reason China is considered to take a “blockchain before bitcoin” stance. The main reason for their restrictive measures on cryptocurrency is likely geopolitical — Chinese economic initiatives including One Belt One Road are highly dependent upon them retaining and increasing their influence over the international flow of money. The United States already enjoys this power through the U.S. dollar and cryptocurrencies could do the same for China, assuming they have more control over the crypto money supply. In fact, the People’s Bank of China is actively working on a state-backed cryptocurrency and electronics payment system."
A brief timeline of the development of Chinese crypto regulationDecember 2013: The People’s Bank of China issues a warning notice on the risks of Bitcoin, and prohibits all crypto operations for financial institutions
December 2016: The Chinese government adds blockchain technology to its five-year technology plan
June 2017: The People’s Bank of China begins testing a prototype state-backed digital currency — the Bank sends several transactions between it and some of the country’s commercial banks.
September 2017: The Chinese government imposes regulation banning all Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and crypto-to-fiat exchanges
January 2018: The Chinese government imposes regulation banning P2P sales and over-the-counter markets
February 2018: The Chinese government blocks access to foreign crypto exchanges and ICO websites
May 2018: President Xi Jinping makes a speech about the importance of pursuing technological research and mentions blockchain amongst revolutionary technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
May 2018: China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) Research Institute of the Ministry of Information and Technology releases the world’s first technology-focused public blockchain assessment index placing Ethereum as the number one contender.
May 2018: CCID Research Institute of the Ministry of Information and Technology announces that a committee is being setup to establish a national standard for blockchain, with an expected completion date at the end of 2019.
June 2018: China Central Television hosts a one hour special on blockchain technology with participants from the Chinese government; broadcaster touts blockchain as having economic value “10 times that of the internet.”
June 2018: China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) Research Institute of the Ministry of Information and Technology releases an updated public blockchain assessment index placing EOS in front, knocking Ethereum off the top spot.
What connects the dots?The underlying reason for the ban may be concerns that capital flight could devalue the yuan currency and undermine the economic stability that depends on a strong foreign exchange reserve.
While crypto trading is illegal, it is legal for Chinese individuals to hodl cryptocurrencies.
When will I be able to trade again in China?While the Chinese government has not indicated that crypto trading will be legal again anytime soon, various research projects and investments coming out of China indicate that once speculation has leveled out, trading will be both legal and encouraged in China. In particular, the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) Research Institute of the Ministry of Information and Technology has now officially released the world’s first technology-focused public chain assessment index. The purpose of the index is to help “grasp the status quo of global public-chain technology development, to timely track the direction of public-chain technology innovation, and to help promote the innovation and application of blockchain technology.” So, while trading is currently illegal, the fact that this index has been created indicates that the Chinese government indeed does want to educate people on blockchain technology while they wait for the volatility to die down.
Source:
https://hackernoon.com/navigating-crypto-regulation-china-fbae88697a21
