We may assign too much significance to seemingly small steps, such as the recent Hong Kong move and its aftermath. Conversely, investors have also exaggerated certain steps. Today saw a peculiar development that could potentially sow doubts about the future. The news came from China’s front.
8btc Departs from Crypto
8btc, one of China’s oldest cryptocurrency content/news platforms, announced it will no longer produce content related to cryptocurrencies. According to popular crypto reporter Wu Blockchain from China, they will now focus on artificial intelligence. Back in 2018, when many popular accounts were not even aware of cryptocurrencies, 8btc received an investment worth 352 million Turkish Lira at today’s exchange rate. The substantial investment from Bitmain, one of the largest crypto mining platforms, made a splash at the time.
Now we see one of the country’s largest crypto content platforms distancing itself from the field. This might indicate that the pressure in China, which started gaining momentum in 2021, hasn’t really slowed down. More importantly, 8btc‘s decision to pull away, despite Hong Kong’s move, also feeds pessimism.
China and Cryptocurrencies
China remains an important region for crypto mining, and citizens can still invest in cryptocurrencies. There are no dissuasive penalties yet for users who start companies or invest via OTC desks. The collapse of FTX occurred just eight months ago, and significant numbers of creditors reside in China.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has created a wide playground for crypto companies, albeit within high and protected border walls. Whether the regulation tests China conducts through Hong Kong will be applied to the mainland remains uncertain, as is the reason for 8btc ending its crypto-focused operations.
The one clear fact is that China has lost one of its most important crypto content platforms. This could lead to the perception that interest in crypto in the region is waning. Or, no one may care. We will see the results over time, and hopefully, this is not a consequence of media pressure in China.
