China just made Bitcoin pretty useless within China

[KFR]

No, I think the Chinese Central Bank means what the Chinese Central Bank just said.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1s5hzl/my_human_translation_of_the_china_regulation/

i.e. KYC/AML as is totally normal in both the West and the East.

[bootlace]

By the way can someone explain to me how any Chinese vendor will accept Bitcoin. Payment processors like Bitpay, under this regulation, can't accept Bitcoin. Meaning even if vendors can accept Bitcoin - there is no easy way for them to cash it out.

[seleme]

By the way can someone explain to me how any Chinese vendor will accept Bitcoin. Payment processors like Bitpay, under this regulation, can't accept Bitcoin. Meaning even if vendors can accept Bitcoin - there is no easy way for them to cash it out.

Why wouldn't they be able to accept Bitpay?

Because Chinese banks can't deal with BTC? Well, they don't need to, Bitpay sends them fiat

[piramida]

The article mentions that the exchanges have to REPORT the identities to the regulators. Exchanges around the world don't just report your private info to the government by default!

No it does not. Correct translation of the piece:

"Bitcoin websites should earnestly implement their anti-money laundering duty, confirm the identities of their users, register their real names, register their name and ID card number. If financial institutions, payment institutions or Bitcoin websites discover suspicious transactions involving Bitcoin or other virtual commodities, should immediately report it to the China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center, and cooperate with the People's Bank's investigation; if they find evidence of fraud, gambling, money laundering using Bitcoins, they should report it to the police."

read the source: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1s5hzl/my_human_translation_of_the_china_regulation/

[rebuilder]

By the way can someone explain to me how any Chinese vendor will accept Bitcoin. Payment processors like Bitpay, under this regulation, can't accept Bitcoin. Meaning even if vendors can accept Bitcoin - there is no easy way for them to cash it out.

Finally you said something that might even have a grain of truth to it. Then again, what's to prevent a Chinese exchange from letting vendors open trading accounts set to immediately liquidate any BTC sent into them?

[seleme]

There's nothing about vendors in that statement, surely not until more explanation is added.

They clearly mentioned only financial and payment institutions.

[bootlace]

There's nothing about vendors in that statement, surely not until more explanation is added.

They clearly mentioned only financial and payment institutions.

Bitpay would fit under a payment institution.

[bootlace]

No, I think the Chinese Central Bank means what the Chinese Central Bank just said.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1s5hzl/my_human_translation_of_the_china_regulation/

i.e. KYC/AML as is totally normal in both the West and the East.

The statement says "comply with the legally required anti-money laundering procedures like KYC and suspicious transaction reporting" - note the word like there. We don't know the extent to which they will follow up on this. However its clear that China has an obsession with tracking their citizens behaviour - anything from what they post on social media accounts to wanting to place a tracking software by default on every PC - suggests to me they're not just going to be sitting idly by.   

[KFR]

Just try opening a bank account without ID.  Outside China will do.  Be sure to wear the same tinfoil hat you're wearing in your passport photo.

[rebuilder]

The article reads that it is not allowed to price goods in China in Bitcoins, hence Vendors will not do it, otherwise they face charges. Given this, Bitcoins are purely for trading and speculation. I do see this as a major problem for Bitcoin going forward, especially as the rally was sparked by the chinese...

The translation of the actual notice says no such thing that I can see. The limitations issued are very specifically directed at financial institutions and payment organizations, plus the AML, KYC requirements etc. for Chinese exchanges.

[bootlace]

By the way can someone explain to me how any Chinese vendor will accept Bitcoin. Payment processors like Bitpay, under this regulation, can't accept Bitcoin. Meaning even if vendors can accept Bitcoin - there is no easy way for them to cash it out.

The article reads that it is not allowed to price goods in China in Bitcoins, hence Vendors will not do it, otherwise they face charges. Given this, Bitcoins are purely for trading and speculation. I do see this as a major problem for Bitcoin going forward, especially as the rally was sparked by the chinese...

So you can't buy stuff with it, you can't use it anonymously, you can't use it for 'illegal things' like gambling, you can't even purchase it from any financial institution in the shape of an ETF or retirement fund. As I said, it's being limited to serving as a digital commodity - whatever that means (I guess something like WoW gold).

[rebuilder]

So you can't buy stuff with it, you can't use it anonymously, you can't use it for 'illegal things' like gambling, you can't even purchase it from any financial institution in the shape of an ETF or retirement fund. As I said, it's being limited to serving as a digital commodity - whatever that means (I guess something like WoW gold).

Go read the translation. Nowhere does it say you can't buy things with it.

[antimattercrusader]

Well, this is the first negative news we've had in a while. There will be an effect. How bad this turns out to be remains to be seen.

It's important to note that China had not banned individuals from using/buying/trading bitcoin, but it sounds like they've prohibited banks from doing such, and may require AML/KYC requirements on bitcoin businesses - is that exchanges? Sellers/Buyers? Anyone that accepts BTC? We shall see.

[bootlace]

The article reads that it is not allowed to price goods in China in Bitcoins, hence Vendors will not do it, otherwise they face charges. Given this, Bitcoins are purely for trading and speculation. I do see this as a major problem for Bitcoin going forward, especially as the rally was sparked by the chinese...

The translation of the actual notice says no such thing that I can see. The limitations issued are very specifically directed at financial institutions and payment organizations, plus the AML, KYC requirements etc. for Chinese exchanges.

If they think that Bitcoin is not a currency/money/legal tender - it would make sense to not allow vendors to sell things priced in Bitcoin. You can't just sell things based on arbitrary units, how would that even be taxed.

[Loki8]

Not only China...

"French central bank warns against using bitcoin"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/10497427/French-central-bank-warns-against-using-bitcoin.html

[antimattercrusader]

ahhh geez, here we go. Banks fight back.(Maybe).

Don't worry, they'll fail. We may be in for a rough year though, then again, maybe not. The only thing I can say with bitcoin is I don't know! lol

[disclaimer201]

This is what an extended media hype will do. Read twice about Bitcoin on mainstream media just today.

[niothor]

So if one users posts some bad news about bitcoin he gets the bulling of his lifetime , ignores and other crap
If a troll posts some photoshoped bitcoin taxi in kenya he is praised as a god.

No offense but , we have a problem controlling zealots here.

[eindbaas]

So if one users posts some bad news about bitcoin he gets the bulling of his lifetime , ignores and other crap
If a troll posts some photoshoped bitcoin taxi in kenya he is praised as a god.

No offense but , we have a problem controlling zealots here.

Shut up stupid bear!

kiddinx

[antimattercrusader]

So if one users posts some bad news about bitcoin he gets the bulling of his lifetime , ignores and other crap
If a troll posts some photoshoped bitcoin taxi in kenya he is praised as a god.

No offense but , we have a problem controlling zealots here.

Shut up stupid bear!

kiddinx

lmao. It's nice to be in a bullish community that understands the concept here, sick of arguing with other "citizens" about bitcoin being a ponzi and whatnot - that said, yes - sometimes reality is ignored here. I am a bitcoin turbobull but what can ya say? negative is just negative sometimes. That said,  I don't know how big of an effect this specific negative will have. Perhaps not as severe as some people think - certainly not zero as someone posted somewhere.