The plot continues to thicken for Chinese bitcoin exchanges. In a new statement, the PBoC director made some rather interesting suggestions. Apparently, he feels Chinese bitcoin exchanges should not offer bitcoin as a payment method to replace fiat money. That is a rather odd sentiment which caused quite a bit of confusion among bitcoin enthusiasts.
It has to be said, the statement by the PBoC director can be interpreted in many different ways. Saying exchanges should not offer bitcoin as a payment option to replace fiat is unusual. Moreover, this change will only affect Chinese exchanges who violate AML regulations. Right now, it remains unclear which platforms can be affected by this new proposal moving forward.
More Changes Are Coming For Chinese Exchanges
It is evident the PBoC wants to create a “blacklist” of specific exchanges, though. Imposing such a change will shake up the bitcoin ecosystem in China, that much is certain.The statement also discusses how leveraged margin trading would need to be removed altogether. Doing so will be a more than welcome change, that much is certain. Leveraged margin trading only attributes to bitcoin price volatility, which is not always a good thing.
3/ PBoC director suggested the negative list for Chinese #bitcoin exchanges, including not offering bitcoin as payment to replace fiat money pic.twitter.com/yvupVY1eCi
— cnLedger (@cnLedger) March 8, 2017
Additionally, the Chinese bitcoin exchanges will have to halt their fake trading volume production. Once again, this is not a change that should surprise anyone at this stage. However, with the removal of bitcoin as a replacement for fiat to purchase goods is a rather intriguing statement. It is unclear what this change entails exactly. By the look of things, users can still withdraw bitcoin from exchanges moving forward, which is a positive sign.
What this could mean, however, is how the sending of bitcoin from an exchange wallet will be limited. The PBoC wants to establish a list of blacklisted addresses. Although it seems strange to think this will affect any businesses accepting bitcoin payments, it is still a possibility. For now, it is anybody’s guess how this new regulation will be enforced exactly, though.
All of these proposed changes will be positive for the bitcoin ecosystem, though. Making bitcoin appear more legitimate in China is beneficial, even though there will be some changes along the way. Some of these changes will be less popular at first, but people will have to deal with it, unfortunately. In the end, bitcoin will come out stronger than before. The future looks bright for cryptocurrency, that much is certain.
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