"BTC not a currency per se but can be an alternative asset" China

[Fortify]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

Unless it comes directly from the mouth of Xi Jinping, it is hard to believe a single word that a Chinese official says. The amount of times that they backtrack on what they say the next day because they have angered someone higher up the foodchain is crazy. Same thing happened with that Doctor who announced the discovery of Covid, he was persecuted and eventually died after treating infected patients - the CCP just called him a liar until they couldn't cover it up any longer. The only reason that China is supporting cryptocurrency right now is because they can turn unproductive regions into mining facilities and are willing to burn the dirtiest fossil fuels for the pursuit of money. I think China makes up roughly 65% of bitcoin mining activity at present, so they are gaining a lot of money with the current high prices.

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[The Sceptical Chymist]

“They are not currency per se. And so the main role we see for crypto assets going forward, the main role is investment alternative.”

What is an "investment alternative"?  Bitcoin is either an investment or it's not, and this choice of words has me perplexed as to what exactly they mean.  And bitcoin is a currency, though IMO it's a crappy one (especially at times like this when fees are so goddamn high), so they got that wrong in addition to issuing a gobbledygook statement for a purpose that I can't quite figure out.

I guess this is supposed to be some positive news, but I don't read anything substantial in it.  We'll see what happens; anything is possible when you're talking about China.

[just_Alice]

China is a technically very developed country and accounts for a very large % of Bitcoin purchases. In addition, the biggest Bitcoin mining farms are in China. It's about time they've changed their attitude. Although, all this "investment alternative" stuff seems somewhat befogged.
Perhaps, after all these years the government finally realized the whole potential of cryptocurrencies, and now, considering that China is already involved with crypto they're willing to make an economical profit out of it.

[jaysabi]

It worries me when China has a hard stance, but it worries me even more when they speak softly. Is there still a ban on electronic trading of crypto for citizens?

My interpretation is that they have realised that the country has a lot to gain from backing bitcoin in some form. Countries that intend to grow at a fast pace or are trying to reanimate their economies catching the fintech and alternative assets train should be taking this approach.

China is going to introduce a digital Yuan (they're already testing it in live programs with citizens.  Because of this, it is very unlikely they'll ever be bitcoin-friendly.  They won't want anything to compete with the digital Yuan because success of the digital Yuan is part of a global strategy to break the US's hold over the world financial system.  All the rogue nations are likely to adopt the digital Yuan when it is available because it can't be blocked by US sanctions, which will serve as a double-edged victory for China- it boosts reliance on the Chinese economy and it weakens the US at the same time.

[Twentyonepaylots]

China saw an opportunity with bitcoin in the past, they just shrugged it off because it either is still valued lesser, or because of the news I saw 2 years ago where they are supposed to digitize the Yuan currency. Then again it just shows that with enough encouragement, a government repulsed by the idea of cryptocurrencies can be made to change mind when given the benefits and opportunities that it can bring to their country This will definitely expedite bitcoin's growth and ultimately, the global adoption we are looking for.

[GeorgeJohn]

That voice is a voice of nation, so I believe that with that statement alone he will demoralized the consciousness of people trying to invest in cryptocurrencies, so it's obvious that with such statement it will trigger the people to slide back from crypto investments more like restrictions of cryptocurrencies in some other nations.

Demoralize or give some ray of hope? the fact they acknowledge that btc is an alternative investment is a good enough reason for people over ther to have some hope that one day the strictness surrounding btc in china will reduce a bit, rather than demoralizing the people's conciousness it will uplift their spirit to want to invest, this is suppose to be a positive news isn't it! perhaps they have started to see things about crypto differently.

Actually he has made it obvious to them, he can't say everything because their is inner motive for he to portray such point and never he will say so again, is left for people that have the understanding to make use of their common sense towards cryptocurrency, now it's very clear that existence of btc their is under conditions which might regulate by their government, because government in China according to the discussion is already emphasising that is alternative investment...which really government have started to be against gradually.

[Husires]

Governments and central banks hope that citizens keep Bitcoin or anything valuable in a place within the country or under its authority.

If any service provides Bitcoin as derivative to customers like what PayPal offer where the user can buy and trade Bitcoin within a central network and they cannot withdraw it, then they will have no problem setting up a legislative system and imposing taxes on such transactions.

China will be one of the first countries to adopt such legislation.

[wxa7115]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

People's Bank of China deputy governor also said they will be looking to craft regulations to prevent speculations of BTC investments. They will most likely convene meetings with traditional companies that are interested.

How do you see this affect BTC and cryptocurrency in general?

Full story: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/china-calls-bitcoin-an-investment-alternative-marking-shift-in-tone.html

This is not as unexpected as it may seem at first sight, we know that China will like more than anything to get the US dollar out of their supremacy and they are thinking that bitcoin could be a weapon they can use against the US.

The US is not happy about bitcoin either but they cannot ban it because China has not done so and they are afraid that if they do so then a lot of money is going to leave their economy and they will be left behind in a race that will most likely change the world.

[Gozie51]

China saw an opportunity with bitcoin in the past, they just shrugged it off because it either is still valued lesser, or because of the news I saw 2 years ago where they are supposed to digitize the Yuan currency. Then again it just shows that with enough encouragement, a government repulsed by the idea of cryptocurrencies can be made to change mind when given the benefits and opportunities that it can bring to their country This will definitely expedite bitcoin's growth and ultimately, the global adoption we are looking for.

The digitalisation of Yuan currency is not going to make China more than what it will be today because it is also going to be centralised, it won't be decentralised  like bitcoin. USD is like a decentralised currency and bitcoin standing in crypto space and Yuan as cryptocurrency won't be placed in that, it won't be in use by all.

[jaysabi]

“They are not currency per se. And so the main role we see for crypto assets going forward, the main role is investment alternative.”

What is an "investment alternative"?  Bitcoin is either an investment or it's not, and this choice of words has me perplexed as to what exactly they mean.  And bitcoin is a currency, though IMO it's a crappy one (especially at times like this when fees are so goddamn high), so they got that wrong in addition to issuing a gobbledygook statement for a purpose that I can't quite figure out.

I guess this is supposed to be some positive news, but I don't read anything substantial in it.  We'll see what happens; anything is possible when you're talking about China.

Investment alternatives are exactly what they sound like- investments that are alternative to traditional investments. The stock market are real estate are deemed to be two examples of traditional investments.  Alternative investments are things like private equity, hedge funds, currencies, metals, art, and crypto.

[magneto]

Probably due to the introduction of the digital yuan.

They want to change the public opinion on digital assets in general. However, what they don't want is people adopting BTC as a form of digital currency.

Essentially, it's a compromise that they've reached. They're fine with people using BTC as a long term store of value so long as it doesn't directly compete with CBDCs - which is actually good news for BTC given that it can have a place coexisting with fiats.

[so98nn]

Why not, China holds the power to run whole crypto currency space with their more than 50% of hashing power. They can just do miracles with this power and either put the mining operations at jeopardy or keep it going on with proper regulations what so ever. China is country of surprises, they can build the bio-weapon as well as they can go freaking advance with the technologies. For them bitcoin is not very lucid investment. It's just tip of iceberg and they would want more out of it for sure. With the current situation they will agree on the bitcoin's use for sure, in the corporate world to government usage so that it can be part of their taxation system.

[Obito]

Probably due to the introduction of the digital yuan.

They want to change the public opinion on digital assets in general. However, what they don't want is people adopting BTC as a form of digital currency.

Essentially, it's a compromise that they've reached. They're fine with people using BTC as a long term store of value so long as it doesn't directly compete with CBDCs - which is actually good news for BTC given that it can have a place coexisting with fiats.

Well they aren't wrong in my opinion because bitcoin is an in-between of both asset and currency so technically they are half right. If they plan to change the opinion, I am sure that they are going to be successful consider they own the news station and they have subjected their people to propaganda all these years.

[Vaskiy]

The fact that the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China called bitcoin an "alternative investment" is already some progress. However, these are only the words of one official, moreover, not of the highest rank.

It's not just the word of one man. He represents PBOC which kick started all the bans and crackdowns in 2017 right? This change in stance is kind of a go signal to whoever is responsible of crafting the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency investments.

The ban on cryptocurrency during the year 2017 was made for specific reason of fake volume by cryptocurrency exchanges. This got identified during the inspection and immediate measure of bans and closure of exchanges were done. After that things got regulated and were functioning without issues. Now they have come into the cryptospace understanding its need and thats the reason the tone has got softened.

[tatalin]

It was not yet globally recognized as currency but it is an asset that we can use in trading or barter exchange. That is why countries like China see bitcoin as an alternative asset that they can invest in because it increases in value as time goes by. And they believe that in the future, the world will accept Bitcoin as payment and it will eventually circulate the market.

[BrewMaster]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

they banned ICOs because everyone else was doing it and they were too obvious a scam not to ban. but they haven't changed their tone towards bitcoin from what i can see. they still hate it a lot while loving any centralized altcoin they can control. in fact they even released a list of "best cryptocurrencies" and bitcoin wasn't even in it!

[Haunebu]

This will have zero impact on the cryptocurrency market in my opinion. Why? Because the Chinese government is very fickle when it comes to their opinion regarding cryptocurrencies. They embrace them sometimes and ban them sometimes.

It's like they are stuck in some sort of loop. We should focus on more important matters like Biden's tax plans.

[teosanru]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

People's Bank of China deputy governor also said they will be looking to craft regulations to prevent speculations of BTC investments. They will most likely convene meetings with traditional companies that are interested.

How do you see this affect BTC and cryptocurrency in general?

Full story: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/china-calls-bitcoin-an-investment-alternative-marking-shift-in-tone.html

I think this was long expected. The day Bitcoin was banned in China there was a buzz that they will come with their own Cryptocurrency which would be backed by central bank and their very own exchange. So I think this is no surprise. They will allow bitcoin as an investment in their own exchange which the government would control. But you won't be able to transfer Bitcoins from that wallet to any other wallet only within the wallet transactions would be allowed. China would make their own version of Bitcoin just like their own Facebook, own google, own twitter.

[bocyaj]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

People's Bank of China deputy governor also said they will be looking to craft regulations to prevent speculations of BTC investments. They will most likely convene meetings with traditional companies that are interested.

How do you see this affect BTC and cryptocurrency in general?

Full story: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/china-calls-bitcoin-an-investment-alternative-marking-shift-in-tone.html

If bitcoin was used as  a asset in china, it may increase the flow of bitcoin in china.The population of china is on the top, it can't be open to cryptocurrency investment now. Previously the price only depend on the demand of bitcoin in the market. But now it's depending on the holding of cryptocurrency.

[BIT-BENDER]

In an interesting turn of events, China's tone on BTC has "softened". Who was expecting this change in tone? Not me. Not after all the crack downs on exchanges or ICO bans and the works they are doing with their CBDC.

People's Bank of China deputy governor also said they will be looking to craft regulations to prevent speculations of BTC investments. They will most likely convene meetings with traditional companies that are interested.

How do you see this affect BTC and cryptocurrency in general?

Full story: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/19/china-calls-bitcoin-an-investment-alternative-marking-shift-in-tone.html

China can lay claim to being the mother of bitcoin adoption, from research I have made they have the highest number of miners and maybe Bitcoin users, I think what was left for China as regarding bitcoin was the government, recognition.

This is very much over due, and although I don't like some of the Chinese regulations or their way of system, but in terms of there government contribution to things they approve, I think they do it very well, so this will help Bitcoin in many more ways.