Despite Crackdown, China Observes A Rise In Bitcoin And Crypto Adoption

The Government of China initiated a crypto crackdown in September 2017, with every passing month regulators are trying to discourage the crypto enthusiasm in the country but to no avail. Notably, with every ban or strict rule in place, a use case of cryptocurrency is propping up, as a sign of crypto enthusiasts silent rebellion.

Alongside banning commercial banks from servicing crypto-related businesses,  the local authorities exercised a ban on crypto companies from social media giant WeChat. Furthermore, organizers of token sales and cryptocurrencies are barred from promoting their offerings in public spaces, hotels, and offices.

While the country blocked 120 cryptocurrency exchanges that offer services to mainland residents, major companies like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent gave their contribution to the crackdown by blocking cryptocurrency forums from their platforms respectively. All the efforts and warnings don’t seem to curb the enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency.

Crypto Adoption

Investors have resorted to using over-the-counter trading platforms to buy ICO tokens as well as peer-to-peer crypto exchanges to make trades, buys and sells. Amongst all the tussle, A first of its kind in China, “Ethereum Hotel” is launched, which accepts  ETH as payment.

Ethereum Hotel, China's first hotel that accepts $ETH as payment, is ready to open their business in National Scenic Area of Four Girls Mountain (Sichuan Province).

Source (in CN): https://t.co/CNF7po6IUq pic.twitter.com/YDQYC4EcZb

— cnLedger (@cnLedger) September 26, 2018

Looking into the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies, a report by South China Morning Post quotes industry insiders that:

“it would be a huge challenge for the regulators to completely block access” and stop crypto activities “as long as a trading platform’s servers remain outside China, and transactions are conducted peer-to-peer and remain decentralised.”