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The deputy governor of China’s central bank, Li Bo, has stated in no uncertain terms that he considers bitcoin to be an alternative investment.
Breaking: Li Bo, deputy governor of the Central Bank of China, said that crypto assets such as Bitcoin should be used as investment tools or alternative investments. This is the first time that the Chinese government has recognized the asset value of cryptocurrencies. pic.twitter.com/bgDIVA1eMJ
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 18, 2021
The original source reports that the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has issued an important signal on crypto assets such as bitcoin, saying they should be used as alternative investment instruments or investments.
Li Bo spoke at the Boao Forum for Asia yesterday, along with former governor Zhou Xiaochuan, saying that crypto assets could play an important role in the future, precisely as an alternative investment.
The source also reported that:
“Many countries, including China, are also studying it as an investment tool”.
Li Bo said he considers bitcoin to be a crypto asset, i.e. an investment option and not a currency. He also explicitly called it “an alternative investment”.
At this point, he added that as an investment tool, many countries including China itself are studying a suitable regulatory framework to frame such an investment.
As Li Bo is the acting deputy governor of China’s central bank, these words are in stark contrast to the government’s continued opposition to allowing citizens to invest in bitcoin.
Will the Central Bank of China remove the bitcoin ban?
At this point, it would not be surprising if the Chinese government were to remove the anachronistic ban on bitcoin investments, and instead end up allowing them, albeit within a new regulatory framework.
After all, US rivals are making a lot of money from investing in BTC, so it is very strange that China would continue to prohibit its own citizens, but especially its own businesses, from taking advantage of this opportunity.
The ban on investments in bitcoin has been in place since 2017, i.e. since before the last great speculative bubble burst, when the price of BTC was twelve times lower than it is today. This ban now seems at the very least inappropriate, if not completely anachronistic.