China has always been a peculiar country when it comes to bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The PBoC’s most recent efforts force exchanges to suspend bitcoin withdrawals for the time being. Contrary to what people expect, bitcoin’s popularity in China has not declined all that much. LocalBitcoins trading is more popular than ever, which results in high weekly trading volumes.
Bitcoin’s status in China has taken a few hits, but the popular cryptocurrency is still standing. Interventions by the PBoC make bitcoin look more legitimate and appealing. The unfortunate side effect of exchanges halting all bitcoin withdrawals has to be taken in full stride. These platforms still allow Chinese bitcoin holders to exchange BTC for CNY if they want to. Interestingly enough, very few people are willing to do that right now.
Even though most exchanges are affected by these AML changes, there are other ways to convert bitcoin. LocalBitcoins is not scrutinized by the PBoC at this time. As a result, its weekly trading volume skyrocketed these past few weeks. People can still buy and sell bitcoin with ease, without having to rely on a centralized exchange. In fact, these AML changes teach a valuable lesson as to how one needs to control their bitcoin wallet at all times.
LocalBitcoins China Is Very Popular
The previous week saw the nearly 55m CNY worth of bitcoin change hands on LocalBitcoins. That is a small dip compared to the week prior, but still a very good number. With users unable to access their funds on exchanges, alternative solutions become more popular. The only question is whether or not the PBoC will go after LocalBitcoins in the future. Then again, it will be difficult to intervene in peer-to-peer trading.
Moreover, it will be intriguing to see how popular LocalBitcoins will remain in the future. Chinese exchanges are getting closer to resuming withdrawals once again. Once that happens, there is no way to tell which method of trading will be more successful. Peer-to-peer trading offers many advantages, although centralized exchanges are more convenient. In the end, convenience tends to win over anything else. However, dealing with not being able to withdraw funds may have been a valuable lesson in the end.
It is evident China continues to warm up to bitcoin as a whole. Despite government intervention, the popular cryptocurrency has lost little of its allure. Thanks to platforms such as LocalBitcoins, trading cryptocurrency becomes more peer-to-peer oriented. Centralized exchanges have their place, but they should never dictate the market. Unfortunately, that is still the case right now, even though things may come to change sooner rather than later.
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