China has the largest population in the world. This is why proponents of cryptocurrency were disappointed when the Chinese government effectively banned the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. This ban has remained in effect for the past two years. Needless to say, bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency would be given a very big boost if they were legalized in the country with the most people on the planet. China’s economy is second only to the United States. There had been some optimism a few months ago that the Chinese ban might be coming to an end when President Xi Jinping made some statements about exploring blockchain. However, the ban has not been lifted.
There have been reports that some companies have been defying the ban on cryptocurrency in China. That prompted the Chinese government to issue a warning. They reminded people that no digital asset trading or initial coin offerings were legal in the country. They also told people to report any cryptocurrency trading to local government offices. It is interesting to note that the Chinese government is currently in the process of making their own digital currency that will be available at some point next year. It will be called Digital Currency Electronic Payment. It will be the official national digital currency of China.
It is believed that China will keep all other forms of cryptocurrency illegal in order to force people to use the digital currency that they are creating. In light of the impending Chinese digital currency, it seems unlikely that bitcoin and all of the other cryptocurrencies will ever be legal in the world’s most populated country. There is still a lot of concern about security issues involving bitcoin. It remains a target of hackers and other online criminals. Bitcoin can also be used for tax evasion and money laundering. Therefore, China decided to ban all cryptocurrencies outright to avoid all of those criminal activities and many others.
It will be very interesting to see how the people in China respond to Digital Currency Electronic Payment cryptocurrency that the Chinese government is developing. This will be the first cryptocurrency that is created by a government. People in China have voiced displeasure on social media about the outright ban that was placed on cryptocurrency trading two years ago. However, the new national digital asset could present companies and individuals with new ways to pay for things.
