25th June 2022 > > China.

tl;dr

eBay is ramping up its involvement in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Market Snap (at time of writing)

Market Wrap

The discount between BTC spot and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has narrowed from the record 34% to below 30%, which could be taken as an indicator that recent market stress caused by the Terra fiasco, the collapse of 3AC, and fears of wider contagion, might now be easing.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – China

Over the last few years there have been recurring stories of China “banning” cryptos, each of which resulted in a sell-off for reasons that completely escape me, culminating in last year’s ban of crypto mining. I am unsure of the penalties for breaching the mining ban, but if the state-sponsored terror and genocide committed against Uyghur Muslims by Xi and his henchmen is anything to go by, it is apparent why the mining ban has been successful.

Which is of course a very good thing for the rest of us.

Economic Daily, a state run newspaper (is there any other kind in China?), has made the ruling party’s beliefs about cryptos even plainer, stating in an editorial last week:

“In the future, once investors’ confidence collapses or when sovereign countries declare bitcoin illegal, it will return to its original value, which is utterly worthless.”

This is an interesting statement as it demonstrates the prevailing mindset of the ruling elite is one of control and coercion, the antithesis of the blockchain revolution.

It also shows an enduring and utterly false headed belief that sovereign countries can “declare bitcoin illegal”. Well, to be fair, sovereign countries could make that statement, but it would have no real impact.

It is not possible to “ban” cryptos in any meaningful sense.

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This is demonstrated by a joint statement from the Financial Regulatory Bureau of Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Central Sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China, and the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission.

Clearly these are all state run organisations that simply toe the party line.

The statement warned that trading in cryptos can “seriously endanger” and disrupt the financial system.

So even though the elite believe that sovereign countries can “ban” cryptos, they won’t actually do that themselves, satisfied with simply issuing warnings. What we do know from these public statements is that the hostility towards cryptos in China shows no sign of abating.

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The lack of Chinese involvement in the crypto revolution going forward is very good news.