China’s Crackdown On Crypto Has Been “Very Shallow”
Since Bitcoin’s run-up in 2017, many have bashed China for its rapid shift to be averse towards this innovation, with cryptocurrency proponents quickly bashing the nation for its close-mindedness. However, this seemingly changed, when Michael Gu, the showrunner at crypto-centric media source BoxMining, sat down with Genesis Block’s head trader Charles to get an insider insight into Hong Kong’s local institutional crypto economy.
Interestingly and funny enough, Charles painted a picture that wasn’t as bearish as it seems, especially in terms of Beijing’s Bitcoin-related regulatory actions.
Gu, a well-known crypto commentator and personality, queried Charles about if Chinese investors are “becoming a big factor” in crypto’s most recent downtrend.
Surprisingly, contradicting the anti-Bitcoin regulations supposedly imposed and enforced by Beijing, the trader explained that one of his firm’s strengths is having a “mainland flow,” implying that Genesis Block upkeeps its business relationships with Chinese constituents and clients. He added that there are “surprisingly a lot of very high net-worth individuals” that have access to overseas accounts and a working relationship with Genesis, subsequently adding that China’s crackdown on this nascent industry has been “very shallow.”
Charles noted that while the government’s move to ban crypto-related social media channels and physical events may sound harsh, especially considering free speech rights, in reality, China remains one of the world’s most liquid OTC-based cryptocurrency markets. And interestingly, the savant noted that this hasn’t been even going on under the government’s nose, in fact, Charles added that local regulators haven’t sought to crack down on ‘off the beaten path’ platforms.
Boxmining Michael, elaborating on this point and adding some of his knowledge on the matter, explained:
So they know what’s happening, but then they just [say] ‘you know what, just don’t talk about it’, so that’s why we’re getting this media blackout, so then we have fewer people willing to take a stance to talk about China. It’s taboo now and all the funds [don’t want to say anything]. Then the East/West divide is actually getting bigger because everyone believes that China is out of the picture [in crypto].
Charles echoed the cryptocurrency personality’s claims, noting that while it is hard to gauge exactly how much capital is routed through OTC platforms, from his perspective, “China is [still] a huge market,” and apparently Korea as well.
“Now’s A Great Time To Pick Up Some Bitcoin (BTC)”
The Genesis Block representative went on to talk on the crypto market’s current conditions, which are precarious, to even put it lightly.
He touched on the fact that a one to two-thousand BTC sell-side order, which isn’t massive in the grand scheme of things, can tank the market quickly, due to the lack of liquidity on many order books. Still, while Charles also acknowledged that Bitcoin Cash’s recent fork could have been a bear catalyst, the Genesis senior trader added that for those who missed out on 2017’s bull run, “now’s a great time to pick up some Bitcoin (BTC).”
Title Image Courtesy of Yiran Ding on Unsplash
