Skip to main content

CHINA 2016 BITCOIN BOOM COMEBACK? YUAN HITS 11-YEAR LOW AGAINST THE DOLLAR




Bitcoin’s price has marked a spectacular increase of around 10 percent over the past couple of days in a move that was nothing if not sudden. Comparing Bitcoin’s situation now to that of 2016, analysts and industry experts think that the instability of China’s yuan relative to the dollar could soon shift the country’s position with regard to crypto.



China’s Bitcoin Fever in 2016-2017



Many are comparing Bitcoin’s parabolic price movement of 2019 to that of 2016 and 2017, when the cryptocurrency reached its all-time high price of around $20,000. Now that Bitcoin is up more than 270 percent since the beginning of 2019, it seems only reasonable to make the comparison.
However, many industry experts and analysts, including Alex Saunders, CEO and Founder of Blockchain Education, tweeted that one of the key differences between then and now was China’s position.



Notably, back before China issued a blanket ban on all crypto trading and exchange operations, the country was among the leading nations in cryptocurrency. Chinese investors represented a significant share of the overall market, and they had a serious impact on its development.
Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining chip manufacturers, Bitmain and Canaan, are Chinese companies, and they comprised a serious proportion of the network’s hashrate.
What followed, however, was a full-blown clash with cryptocurrency, as the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), banned security token offerings as well. China went on to ban all crypto-related commercial activity as well.

 It’s also worth noting that the Chinese yuan was relatively stronger against the US dollar back then, as can be seen on the chart below.


Is Bitcoin Becoming a Hedge Amid Uncertain International Economics?

In 2019, however, the situation couldn’t be more different. China’s stance on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency remains legislatively negative. However, there have been some positive developments in this regard. Last year, President Xi Jinping called blockchain technology a part of a “new industrial revolution,” sparking expectations of a potential lift on the blanket ban.
Going further, there are growing tensions between China and the US, especially after US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of yet another round of tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods intended for import to the US.
It’s also the case that the Chinese yuan is increasingly unstable against the US dollar, recently breaking below the 7-peg and hitting 11-year lows.

 According to popular Bitcoin permabull and former Wall Street hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz, all of the above could be the reason for Bitcoin’s latest rally, and that the latter could be well-justified.


The question that everyone is trying to answer now is whether we are on the eve of yet another Chinese comeback, similar to the one that we saw back in 2016.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bitcoin Hash Rate Hits All-Time High: Here’s How It Works And How It Affects The Price

Bitcoin intelligence, data, and analytics firm Glassnode found the Bitcoin hash rate hit a new all-time high over the weekend, ten days before the Bitcoin halving event. In other words, miners are putting more computational power into maintaining the Bitcoin network. Because miners must venture electricity and capital intensive computer processors to mine Bitcoin, the increase in hash rate is a bullish sign. It means miners are after the Bitcoin rewards they get from maintaining the network. And they’re venturing the resources to go after those rewards. Is The Bitcoin Hash Rate Correlated With The Price? In general, the Bitcoin price and the hash rate are not correlated. The price is what buyers and sellers agree to pay for one Bitcoin, and there are many factors – external and internal – affecting the price. However, there is a relation between the two. While the price goes up, it’s more profitable to mine, which likely to cause more miners to turn on their mining equ...

South Korea Won’t Tax Cryptocurrency Profits, For Now

Good news for cryptocurrency traders in South Korea as profit generated from crypto trading will not be subjected to tax, according to a recent announcement from the country’s Ministry of Finance and Strategy. The Ministry clarified that the current tax law does not consider crypto trading gains as taxable income; thus, Korean crypto traders are not required to pay taxes on the profits they earn from crypto trading for the time being.  However, crypto traders in the country may not be exempted from taxation for a long time. An official of the Ministry said that the Ministry is aware of the loophole in the current tax law, and they are currently reviewing the regulations in major foreign countries so that they can amend theirs in an effective way. “The income tax law is only taxable on income listed as taxable. We are preparing a taxation plan for virtual assets by comprehensively reviewing the taxation of major countries, consistency with accounting standards, and trend...

IN THE NEW DECADE, CRYPTO WILL BECOME ESSENTIAL LIKE EMAIL: SAYS TYLER WINKLEVOSS

It’s the start of a new decade, and industry famous twin Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder, and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange and custodian company Gemini Trust, has shared his views on what the next ten years hold for crypto. According to Winklevoss, crypto is already becoming more than a niche technology and a form of money, and it will play an essential role in our daily life in the foreseeable future. “Today, crypto is still a niche technology and a form of money. It is not crucial to your everyday life the way email and other web applications are, but our thesis is that this will change — it’s already changing if you look close enough,” Winklevoss wrote. Winklevoss added that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, which empowers individuals, will be the driving force within the new decade. Crypto will not only redesign the internet but will also redesign the financial and monetary systems to protect the rights and dignity of users, he said. The Winklevos...