China's Central Bank does not believe in the future of bitcoin
Although many investors seem to have put their faith in bitcoin, we cannot say the same thing about China's Central Bank. Even though China was a dominant presence on the bitcoin market, starting with September 2017, things have changed. Then, the central bank of the country announced that it banned initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges for local customers.
The decision is still considered to be a good one by the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, Pan Gongsheng. Gongsheng talked about this decision at a financial forum in Shanghai.
He also seemed to share the opinion of a professor at the Kedge Business Scholl in France, who recently claimed that bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst and which will die due to a grand theft or because of government bans.
Pan stated at the Shanghai event:
“If we didn’t shut bitcoin exchanges and crack down on initial coin offerings [ICOs] a few months ago, and if more than 80 percent of the world’s bitcoin transactions and financing activities were still taking place China, which was the case back in January, what would it be like today?”
Chinese bank supports decision to ban bitcoin exchanges
Gongsheng's ideas were also supported by Sheng Songcheng, an advisor for the Central Bank of China, who previously said that the government took the right decision and that he fully agreed with the ban.
It seems that China is not regretting its September decision to ban bitcoin exchanges. After the decision was announced, several Chinese exchanges and wallet services have moved their operations outside the country.
The exchanges turned their attention to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore or South Korea. Some local investors turned to peer-to-peer marketplaces to be able to continue trading.
Some analysts have claimed that most likely China will also decide to ban mining and over-the-counter trading for all cryptocurrencies, but luckily for those affected, the country has made no official announcement on the matter for the moment. China used to account for a high share of the cryptocurrency market before the ban.
