China’s Bitcoin Exchanges Receive Shutdown Orders and Closure Timeline – CoinDesk
A document leaked on Chinese social media today appears to confirm rumours that all local bitcoin exchanges must close by the end of the month.
BTCC and ViaBTC, following BTCChina, have already announced their closure. Exchanges Huobi and OKCoin are said to have met with regulators today, and are expected to announce plans to shut down within hours.
Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware firm Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, however, claimed that the rumors hint of tougher regulations and temporary closures, rather than an outright ban. (https://twitter.com/JihanWu/status/907662915905380353)
Some things to keep in mind:
* Chinese investors are notorious for their short-term trading activities, which often influenced Bitcoin volatility in the past.
* A complete ban on crypto-trading in China may have major consequences; the country is home to one of the most active Bitcoin trading activities around the world.
* There is a single large-scale mining farm in China that accounts for nearly one-twentieth of the total daily virtual currency production worldwide. China likely wants to stop the flow of their fiat out to crypto, but they're unlikely to shutter the whole thing as that's neither realistic nor feasible due to the industry’s magnitude.
* Given how closely the Chinese control their currency this turn into them figuring out a way to regulate the industry.
* They are not the only country that's taking this type of stance (there are also other countries leaning into it).
* This isn't the first time China has gone anti-crypto and caused a crash. They took a position in 2013 and the price plummeted… and then when it recovered BTC went close to $5,000. ;O)
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