[2018-11-11] No, China Has Not Legalized Nor Put an End to BTC Ban; Inaccurate

[cybersofts]

No, China Has Not Legalized Nor Put an End to Bitcoin Ban; Inaccurate Reports



Throughout the past 24 hours, several publications and public figures have misreported that China has put an end to its blanket ban on bitcoin and the cryptocurrency exchange market.

On Nov. 9, one cryptocurrency-focused publication released a story entitled “China Lifts Bitcoin Ban; Individuals and Businesses Can Now Own Cryptocurrencies Legally.” The article instantly attracted many investors in the cryptocurrency market, who demonstrated optimism towards the supposed unbanning of Bitcoin.

However, the article itself was based on a court ruling of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration which was released on Oct. 25. The outdated and misrepresented story falsely led many investors in the market to manufacture hype around the asset class, in a period in which the cryptocurrency market is stagnant and struggling to initiate major upward price movements.

Overhyped News is Alluring But Not Beneficial to the Industry
In October, as CnLedger, a trusted news source in China reported, the Chinese court confirmed that Bitcoin is protected by law as property. As such, individuals, businesses, and merchants can technically utilize cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as a payment method without conflicting with local regulations.

    1/ Chinese court confirms Bitcoin protected by law. Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration ruled a case involving cryptos. Inside the verdict: CN law does not forbid owning & transferring bitcoin, which should be protected by law bc its property nature and economic value.

    — cnLedger (@cnLedger) October 26, 2018

In the previous month, CryptoSlate reported that the cryptocurrency market of China has become more active as of late, due to the acceptance of digital assets by hotels and publications.

In late September, Ethereum Hotel, China’s first hotel that accepts Ethereum (ETH) as a payment method, reportedly opened their business in National Scenic Area of Four Girls Mountain (Sichuan Province).

On Oct. 1, China’s oldest technology publication Beijing Sci-Tech Report (BSTR) announced that it would accept Bitcoin as a payment method for its subscriptions beginning early 2019, to encourage the utilization of crypto in a “real-world setting for practical actions,”

The Ethereum Hotel and BSTR have been able to integrate cryptocurrencies into their payment systems because the two digital assets are recognized as properties under local laws.

But, the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies remains strictly banned, and the areas of the cryptocurrency market that the government of China has banned remain prohibited.

While merchants are technically allowed to accept cryptocurrencies, trading, crypto events, ICOs, and any form of OTC investment in the asset class are still prohibited.

Exaggerated and overhyped reports could provide the cryptocurrency community with optimism in the short-term, but in the mid to long-term, they tend to have a negative impact. If the expectations of the community increase significantly due to misrepresented reports and the expectations are not met in the future, then it can have a worse effect on the market.

Source: https://cryptoslate.com/no-china-has-not-legalized-nor-put-an-end-to-bitcoin-ban-inaccurate-reports/

[Kakmakr]

The Chinese government is a lot like the Russian government, because they are not decisive in their decision making process and also in their communication to their citizens. A few years ago, Russia jumped from Bitcoin being banned and not banned, like a rabbit on a hot stove. We could never say for certain if it was banned or if it was not banned. 

Yes, people will use obscure methods to "pump" the price, but I think this looks like another scenario where the content was created, based on poor interpretation of the communication that are coming from the government. 

[buwaytress]

The Chinese government is a lot like the Russian government, because they are not decisive in their decision making process and also in their communication to their citizens. A few years ago, Russia jumped from Bitcoin being banned and not banned, like a rabbit on a hot stove. We could never say for certain if it was banned or if it was not banned. 

Yes, people will use obscure methods to "pump" the price, but I think this looks like another scenario where the content was created, based on poor interpretation of the communication that are coming from the government. 

I thought exactly this when I started reading this week's piece. Remember end of 2017, towards the bull run? We were seeing daily news stories about Putin, about Russia, about the Duma, about various governors in various provinces all issuing contradictory statements against each other, even Putin himself quoted bizarrely and in conflicting statements, state media, TV etc.

Everything seemed to haphazard that it quickly became pointless to keep up with.

For China too, this back and forth isn't new. The very first "ban" news was in 2013, and they haven't stopped that mill yet. Blame us for reading and trying to keep up.

[KryptoKai]

It's hard to keep track of what China does and does not allow. Shenzhen and hong kong are slightly different in that they have special economic privileges, so what happens there does not reflect the whole of China

[jseverson]

I saw that and I was confused because there was no Bitcoin ban in the first place. I thought it was talking about the exchange ban.

Yes, people will use obscure methods to "pump" the price, but I think this looks like another scenario where the content was created, based on poor interpretation of the communication that are coming from the government. 

I'm actually pretty sure this was just clickbait. I mean, it referred to a favorable Shenzhen ruling that has nothing to do with a ban at all. They probably just wanted clicks. That, or a translation error maybe? Either way I don't think the Chinese government has anything to do with it.

[BitHodler]

It's hard to keep track of what China does and does not allow.

It's almost impossible to keep up with how news outlets either fail to get the proper context of the original releases translated to English, or they on purposely try to deceive their readers. It may even be a mixture of both.

News outlets don't care about how trashy their articles covering these subjects are, because most of their readers have no way to actually fact check what they read, nor the time and will.

I'm glad that the market doesn't seem to care about China anymore, so whatever the nonsense is these news outlets come up with, it won't affect the market. It took a while to reach this state, but it tremendously helped the market forward.

The less China the better.

[greeklogos]

The Chinese government is a lot like the Russian government, because they are not decisive in their decision making process and also in their communication to their citizens. A few years ago, Russia jumped from Bitcoin being banned and not banned, like a rabbit on a hot stove. We could never say for certain if it was banned or if it was not banned. 

Yes, people will use obscure methods to "pump" the price, but I think this looks like another scenario where the content was created, based on poor interpretation of the communication that are coming from the government. 

Russia and China act like best friends forever, that's why I'm not surprise they copy one each other in the case of politic around crypto.
China is the biggest player on the crypto market, if they will not free crypto trading bitcoin will simply die in few years.

[xhomerx10]