FX168 Financial News Agency (Asia Pacific) reported that the Chinese government banned cryptocurrency mining and trading in 2021. The content mentioned that China's cryptocurrency over-the-counter transactions attracted $75 billion, and about 55% of over-the-counter cryptocurrency transactions exceeded $1 million. According to US media reports, Chinese cryptocurrency traders have turned to over-the-counter (OTC) trading methods to avoid being discovered.
Eric Jardine, head of cybercrime research at Chainalysis, said: "Given China's regulatory environment, including bans on cryptocurrency trading and mining, these services inevitably fall into the gray area of the economy. Unless China's regulatory environment becomes more favorable to cryptocurrencies, I expect such services to continue to grow over time."
The US media The Street mentioned that China currently ranks 20th in Chainalysis' annual global cryptocurrency adoption ranking, indicating that despite the ban, a considerable portion of the population continues to trade.
“While China often cracks down on offenders violating its digital asset ban, lax enforcement may be catalyzing recent growth,” the article said.
Source: The Street
The study shows that a total of $75.4 billion flowed into Chinese over-the-counter cryptocurrency traders in the last nine months.
The study found that about 55% of China's over-the-counter cryptocurrency transactions were worth more than $1 million, but it is not clear whether these transactions were conducted by individuals or companies.
Source: Chainalysis
Source: Chainalysis
The Daily Hodl quoted people familiar with the matter as telling US media that such payments are also used to settle cross-border payments with Russia.
However, Angela Ang, senior policy advisor at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, said Chinese regulators may have difficulty regulating international payments.
"We have seen Chinese authorities take action to crack down on crypto crime and strengthen anti-money laundering laws, but the reality is that these bans are difficult to enforce given the borderless nature of the industry," she said.
Hong Kong approved its first bitcoin spot ETF in April as it strives to become a cryptocurrency hub comparable to global rivals Dubai and Singapore. Both cities have attracted a large number of cryptocurrency companies in recent years.
Hong Kong has also seen a rapid increase in cryptocurrency adoption over the past year, up 85.6%, according to Chainlysis data.
With the recent headwinds in China's real estate market and economy, more and more mainland Chinese investors are also looking to Hong Kong as a potential gateway for cryptocurrency investment, but it is unclear how domestic regulators will respond.
One of the policy measures announced by Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, on Tuesday (September 24) was to inject $140 billion in liquidity into the financial system. By easing liquidity tightness, the monetary authorities have set the stage for a steady economic recovery this year.
Cryptocurrency analysts and participants believe the move is a catalyst for the cryptocurrency market, especially Bitcoin. The idea is that excess capital generated by the depreciation of fiat currencies will flow from the renminbi to Bitcoin as a hedge against potential inflation. The injection of liquidity has previously triggered a massive rally in Bitcoin. Therefore, many people believe that it is time for Bitcoin to repeat history.