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Chinese police have uncovered a $1.9 billion underground banking extortion scheme involving the popular stablecoin project Tether. The underground banking operations were conducted in Chengdu, China, using Tether to exchange foreign currencies. City police released a press report highlighting the details of the underground operations and announced the arrest of 193 suspects across 26 provinces.
Noteworthy Operation in China
The police report noted that the underground USDT banking operations began in January 2021 and were primarily used to smuggle pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and investment assets abroad. Authorities dismantled two underground operations in Fujian and Hunan and froze 149 million yuan worth $20 million linked to USDT banking operations.
Despite a comprehensive ban on crypto-related activities in China, Chinese investors continue to bypass the national ban and use crypto assets through alternative means. A report by Kyros Ventures shows that Chinese investors are among the largest stablecoin holders worldwide.
The report indicates that 33.3% of Chinese investors own various stablecoin projects, ranking second after Vietnam’s 58.6%.
China and the Cryptocurrency Market
The Chinese government has banned Bitcoin mining operations as well as the use of cryptocurrency and crypto exchanges, but locals have found ways to circumvent such a ban over the years. During the Bitcoin mining ban, China was the largest contributor to the Bitcoin network hash rate, but within a year of the ban, China’s mining hash rate contribution rose to second place despite the ban.
Similarly, following the country’s ban on centralized exchanges, Chinese investors turned to decentralized exchanges. After the ban, the use of decentralized finance-based protocols by Chinese investors increased significantly, with some using virtual private networks to defy the ban. Despite numerous steps taken towards crypto assets during this process, China continues to enforce bans, and the interest of the country’s citizens in crypto assets persists despite these bans.
