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China urges McDonald’s to embrace digital yuan before the Winter Olympics

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China has been at the forefront of the central bank digital currency aka the CBDC game. While the world traverses into the digital world, governments from all across the globe were seen expressing immense interest in CBDCs. However, China stayed ahead of everyone through fast-paced developments. Now, with just months left for the Winter Olympics which is scheduled to take place in Beijing, the Chinese government was seen urging prominent fast-food chain, McDonald’s to accept the digital yuan.

The world seemingly liked the idea of cryptocurrencies. However, the industry’s decentralized nature and volatility appalled many. While taking out leaves from the crypto book, governments wanted to uphold supervision. Therefore, they decided to roll out CBDCs.

As several have just started to get on to the CBDC bandwagon, China was well ahead in the game. The country was rather quick to wrap up its testing phase and had already made the digital yuan available to the public. While prominent firms across the country were planning on incorporating the digital yuan into their system at their own pace, the Chinese government was reportedly coercing them to accept the CBDC.

China trying too hard to embrace its CBDC?

As per a recent report by the Financial Times, the Chinese government wanted McDonald’s to include the digital yuan into its payment system. The government required the fast-food giant to allow citizens to pay with the CBDC across all the outlets in the country.

Apart from McDonald’s, popular firms like Nike as well as Visa were pressured into accepting the digital yuan, the report suggested. Furthermore, this pressure was derived from the upcoming Winter Olympics, which is slated to take place in February.

The fervor around this currency was relatively high. However, the backlash it amassed overpowered everything. Several even suggested that the Chinese CBDC could rob the citizens of financial freedom as the digital yuan was mostly a tool of surveillance.

Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at the Human Rights Foundation commented about the same and said,

“The end of cash and the insta-analysis of financial transactions enable surveillance, state control, and, eventually, social engineering on a scale never thought possible.”

Bitcoin miners intend to flock into the US following China’s crypto ban

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With the demand for crypto reaching a new height, the mining industry was seen thriving. Bitcoin [BTC] miners were making the most of the flourishing demand for the asset. However, the fervor around the business had migrated from China onto the United States.

China was at the forefront of the Bitcoin mining game. The largest mining firms were residing in the country. Following the recent ban not just the mining side of the industry, but a large number of exchanges and firms related to crypto moved out of China.

Not too long ago, the Chinese government went on to oust an array of crypto mining firms out of the country. While the initial buzz was that all these Bitcoin mining firms were moving into Kazakstan, a new report suggested that miners were keen on flocking into the US.

Bitcoin miners choose US over China

The US has clearly had a love-hate relationship with the crypto-verse. While the country has welcomed certain parts of the crypto industry with open arms, a few others have been outrightly shunned. As per a recent report released by Cambridge University, a vast number of Bitcoin miners were interested in setting up shop in the US.

CNBC further reported that the US was replacing China as the leader of the Bitcoin mining space. These weren’t blatant assumptions as the US accounted for about 40% of the total Bitcoin hash rate back in July. Therefore, it was clear that BTC miners were interested in exploring the US shores to carry out mining activities.

This was the first time that the US had taken over China in terms of crypto mining destination.

Darin Feinstein, the co-founder of Core Scientific revealed that over the last year significant mining infrastructure was being set up in the US. Feinstein stated,

“We’ve noticed a massive uptick in mining operations looking to relocate to North America, mostly in the U.S.”

Cannada was also a place of interest for several mining platforms.

Binance becomes the latest exchange to close its doors in China; Chinese users to end 2021 on a sad note

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China’s big crypto crackdown was sparing no one. Prominent crypto exchange, Binance was the latest to steer away from China.

Immense hostility was noted against the crypto-verse by the Chinese government. The world had slowly started to recognize and embrace crypto. But China was taking a whole new direction. After issuing a blanket ban on crypto in the region, several firms across China were seen left clueless. Not only did this ban force platforms to shut shop, but it also drove many out of the country.

Binance seemed to be abiding by the rules and regulations put forth by the government as it decided to suspend its OTC marketplace for the Chinese yuan [CNY]. In an elaborate statement, the exchange noted that it would delist CNY trading on 31 December 2021.

While crypto platforms were not allowed to deliver exchange services since 2017, several firms were seen providing OTC services. Binance was also one among them. The blog post further read,

“Binance withdrew from the Chinese mainland market in 2017 and does not engage in exchange business in mainland China. Binance has always attached great importance to compliance obligations and has always strictly complied with the relevant requirements of local regulatory agencies.”

China has been going all-in on driving out crypto out of the country. While Binance’s latest move wasn’t unexpected, WeChat’s decision to switch off crypto search results came as a shock to many.

Binance, Huobi, Ouyi will no longer be available on WeChat search results

Chinese crypto journalist, Colin Wu in a recent tweet, revealed that WeChat, an application that hoards about one billion users had restricted crypto exchange-related searches. Over the course of the last couple of months, an array of Chinese platforms were seen dropping support for crypto firms or crypto-related activity. WeChat became the latest platform to join the list.

In the tweet, Wu revealed that WeChat had banned searches related to Binance, Huobi, Ouyi, and other crypto-based platforms. The search results for the aforementioned platforms were no longer appearing for WeChat users.

China’s aversion against crypto isn’t new but considering the pace, the Chinese government was moving in, it was evident that the government was soon going to make the country a crypto-free zone in no time.

China officially categorizes crypto mining under eliminated industries

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The great China crypto crackdown continues and this time the mining sector is in trouble. The Chinese government has been overtly scrutinizing the crypto-verse. An array of platforms have been forced to move out of the country. While several have been speculating that this was the demise of the crypto scene in China, the government of the region went on to provide assurance for the same.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission in its latest list of eliminated industries went on to add Bitcoin mining. Ever since the country started out this crackdown, it was seen targeting one aspect at a time. From mining firms to exchanges, the government left no leaf unturned. A few weeks ago, an array of mining platforms were seen exiting the Chinese market. This not only disrupted their workflow but also caused major losses to several mining platforms.

The National Development and Reform Commission [NDRC] of the country revealed that crypto mining fell under the category of eliminated industries following a public consultation.

China’s latest move against crypto

The NDRC oversees the economic development of the country and 8BTCnews noted that this was an official ban on all crypto mining activities in the region.

The news portal tweeted,

“Breaking! China’s Development and Reform Commission publicly solicited opinions on the “Negative List of Market Access (2021 Edition)”, and included virtual currency “mining” activities in the elimination category as “Outdated production technology and equipment”.”

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China officially categorizes crypto mining under eliminated industries 2

China was previously home to one of the biggest crypto mining firms in the world. This was soon changed as several well-established firms were asked to shut shop and exit the country. The country’s take on crypto had the entire world stunned. While some suggested that the country couldn’t deal with the level of “decentralization” the crypto industry provides, a few others noted that the government was making room for its central bank digital currency [CBDC], the digital yuan.

Back in June, about 26 mining firms in Sichuan were asked to stop rendering services due to an investigation. Many mining firms were seen relocating to various parts of the world, however, a majority of them were migrating to Kazakhstan.

China’s major crypto firm, BitZ shuts shop after crypto ban

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China has been doing rounds in the crypto-verse for quite a while now. The blanket ban on crypto assets and the country’s big crackdown on crypto firms has been stunning the entire globe that had just started recognizing the true value of crypto. While the country continues to oust many crypto firms existing in the region, a few other crypto-based platforms went on to move out following the harsh regulations imposed on them.

Over the past couple of weeks, China witnessed the departure of an array of major platforms. This list included Huobi, CoinEx, and several others. Now, a prominent Chinese crypto platform revealed that it would be biding the country adieu following the new regulations that were put forth by the government.

This made it clear that the Chinese government was striving to negate crypto from the country. China’s big crypto crackdown would certainly create unemployment for many.

China’s BitZ closes its doors

BitZ had stopped taking in new users back when China came out with its new set of regulations. However, now, the crypto platform noted that would be closing its operations. The platform has reportedly given its current users time till 21 October to withdraw funds. Post this date, users would have to undergo the process of identification via email.

While assuring that the funds of the existing customers were safe and well protected, starting from 8 October, the exchange vowed to suspend the deposit option for its Chinese users. However, users will be able to use withdrawal services as well as trading services. Trading would be completely banned on the exchange from 14 October.

Furthermore, positions that won’t be completed by 14 October will reportedly be closed, and the assets that would remain in its would directly be accumulated as crypto in the users’ account.

Saying goodbye to its customers after four years of its existence, the exchange wrote,

“Finally, I would like to thank all BitZ users for their continued support and hope to get your understanding. I wish everyone a smooth, happy, and happy life in the future!”

Huobi to eliminate all things China from its platform by December

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The world has been witnessing China’s recent behavior towards crypto platforms. Therefore, Huobi, along with a wide range of crypto platforms decided to bid adieu to the country. Just last week, the crypto exchange revealed that it had banned new user registration from mainland China. Now, more recently, Huobi affirmed that it would stop services for accounts from China.

Last week, Huobi shared a blog post revealing that it would “gradually retire existing Mainland China users” While it closed new user registrations back on 24 September, the exchange is all set to close the app for Chinese users by December.

China and its latest antics with regard to the crypto-verse were condemned by many. However, the Chinese government continued to bring out its hostile nature towards the crypto market and went on to deprive the citizens of the country of the benefits of the crypto industry. The most prominent crypto platform had set up shop in China and over the last couple of weeks, all of them were seen exiting the region, thanks to the blanket ban on crypto.

Chinese crypto journalist, Colin Wu announced that Huobi was officially suspending services for its users from mainland China. The biggest crypto trader in China was finally shutting shop in the region.

Huobi bids adieu to China

In a recent tweet, Wu noted that the crypto exchange would be suspending the deposits feature starting from 14 December 2021. This will then be followed by the removal of support for the Chinese yuan [CNY] and its trading pairs on the 31st of December. These imminent changes will not affect non-Chinese users in any way, Wu affirmed.

In the next tweet, Wu said,

“Huobi is China’s first major exchange that eliminate existing Chinese users. Whether other exchanges will imitate is currently a topic of concern.”

Other exchanges were already on their way outside China. Recently, CoinEx announced that would drop support for the users of the country. CoinEx users were given time till 31 October 2021 to withdraw funds.

Fed’s Chairman squashes crypto ban rumors; Regulations over ban affirms Powell

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The Fed Chairman has time and again popped up in the crypto industry. While the United States, Federal Reserve hasn’t expressed extreme hostility towards the industry, like the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] or other regulatory entities. rumors pertaining to a ban on crypto were surfacing. The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell clarified that the occurrence of such an instance was unlikely.

China’s big crypto crackdown had left an array of governments thinking if they were right on adopting crypto. While the world had just started to recognize crypto as a legit market, China started to oust a number of firms associated with the industry. As fear surrounding the same was sprucing up in the United States, Powell pulverized rumors related to the same and revealed that the government should lay its focus on regulations instead.

Appearing in a recent hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services, Powell addressed an array of things. This list also included the role of crypto in the current world.

Fed’s Powell affirms no ban on crypto

The Fed chairman was posed with a question by Rep. Ted Budd. This question was related to the blanket ban that China had imposed on crypto. Budd asked Powell if he intended to “ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies.” Powell asserted, “No.” He made it clear that the Fed had no intentions of banning or even limiting the use of crypto in the country.

However, he had previously noted that the creation and emergence of the digital dollar aka the US’s potential CBDC could dent the importance of stablecoins.

Responding to Budd’s question, Powell said,

“But stablecoins are like money market funds, they’re like bank deposits, but they’re to some extent outside of the regulatory perimeter. And it’s appropriate that they be regulated. Same activity, same regulation.

While countries have slowly started to open up doors for crypto, China shutting its door could deprive the country and its citizens of what the crypto-verse has to offer. Steering away from a ban, the US clearly seemed to be focusing on regulating the crypto market.

Here are the 3 DeFi protocols generating over $100M in annualized revenue

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September has been a tough month for the crypto industry. The DeFi protocols, on the other hand, are seeing increased activity. Market participants remained cautioned as a result of the regulatory clampdown from China and elsewhere.

Hence, many users have now that some buyers have changed their focus away from Bitcoin [BTC] and have instead resorted to decentralized finance [DeFi] tokens. As a matter of fact, DeFi protocols have seen more activity as Chinese FUD sent shockwaves across the industry. According to the latest data compiled by Messari, there are now three DeFi protocols generating over $100 million in annualized revenue – DYDX, PancakeSwap, and Yearn Finance.

DeFi’s incredible traction

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In the wake of China’s crypto crackdown, many centralized exchanges scrambled to conform to new regulations. The derivatives DEX DYDX’s trading volume, on the other hand, even eclipsed Nasdaq-listed centralized crypto exchange Coinbase. Messari revealed that DYDX generated revenue of a little under $500 million annualized in the past month. To put things into perspective, DYDX has amassed well over 80% in two days as many speculated that Chinese crypto users are converging on the decentralized margin trading protocol.

Next up was PancakeSwap with a monthly revenue that stood at $219 million. PancakeSwap is a leading DEX at Binance Smart Chain. However, the latter has taken a substantial hit of late. But according to Messari’s analyst Ryan Watkins, PancakeSwap continues to be a “cash machine” for BSC. He stated,

“Despite BSC activity having fallen off a cliff since Q1 PancakeSwap remains a cash machine. Most profitable spot exchange in DeFi. Although I will note that if UNI flipped on its fee switch it would be producing far more income than PancakeSwap.”

Additionally, Yearn Finance happens to be the only protocol earning more than $100 million a year without paying out token incentives.

Overall, decentralized exchanges [DEXs] have held their position as the most profitable protocols in the decentralized finance sector by a huge margin. This is true for centralized counterparts as well, since CEXs remain the most profitable centralized crypto businesses. According to Watkins, the clampdown of centralized venues from certain jurisdictions will further catalyze the growth of DEXs.

Crypto exchanges continue to bid adieu to China amidst its big crypto crackdown

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China has been in the news lately for its big crypto takedown. The country has time and again expressed its aversion towards the industry and the Chinese government’s recent series of activities has been proof enough of the same. While the government has continued to make the region inhabitable for crypto platforms, more and more firms were seen flying out of the country.

The crypto-verse has dealt with a lot of hate over the years. However, China took it to another level with its latest crackdown. From mining firms to exchanges and every platform related to cryptocurrencies was shown the door by the government. While China hasn’t revealed the real reason behind this crackdown, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla noted that the decentralized nature of the cryptocurrency market was certainly off-putting for China.

Musk recently spoke at a conference and stated,

“I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government. They don’t like that.”

Crypto exchange CoinEx takes a flight out of China

Earlier today, prominent cryptocurrency exchange, CoinEx shared a blog post and revealed that it would entirely shut down shop for its mainland China users. Any number and account associated with mainland China would be banned from the platform.

Mainland China users would be given time till 31 October 2021 to withdraw funds. After this date, users would be allowed only one service which is withdrawal. No trading and despot features would be available for users from mainland China. While zero balance accounts would be shut off starting from today, no access would be given to the users.

While urging users to withdraw their respective funds at the earliest, the exchange went on to thank them. The post read,

“We are thankful for all trust and support from every one of our users, and would like to express sincere gratitude to all partners who have accompanied CoinEx along the way. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.”

Last week, Huobi banned new user registrations from mainland China as a result of the country’s latest crypto crackdown. This could just be the start as more and more platforms would soon be leaving the region.

China FUD sends Indian crypto investors into a frenzy

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The latest announcement by Chinese central bank, People’s Bank of China [PBoC] with regards to making all crypto transactions illegal has sent Indian investors into massive sell-offs. Cardano [ADA], Polygon [Matic], and Solana [SOL] have been investor favorites for quite some time but the latest news witnessed many market players cashing out. As many resorted to offloading their assets, others settled for the dominant cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin [BTC] and Etherium [ETH] as FUD intensified in the market following the development.

Coinciding the news, popular Indian crypto exchanges have recorded a 50% rise in the volume of transactions in a span of two days. Experts believe that the rush was attributed to those who invested in the crypto with smaller market caps. However, seasoned investors remained unfazed by the recent turn of events.

Indian cryptocurrency exchange, BuyUcoin’s founder Shivram Thakral stated,

“The largest sell-offs we’ve seen are in the biggest gainers as investors are likely to cash out their investments in assets like Cardano, Solana, Matic”

According to him, China’s ban set off alarm bells among the newbie investors into a dumping spree while others traded for the safer assets. Previously Bitcoin [BTC] was the most preferred token for Indian users until recently many new investors started exploring other altcoins.

Can China’s loss be turned into an opportunity for India?

The recent crackdown has nevertheless drawn a lot of attention from the global crypto community. However, not many were surprised. China has a long history of targeting crypto-related activities be it Bitcoin and crypto mining or clampdown on exchanges and businesses.

This has resulted in mass exodus and shifting of operations to crypto-friendly countries such as Bahamas, Kazakhstan as well as parts of the US, Canada, etc. On the other hand, with its growing tech-savvy population and prudent steps towards bringing the much-needed regulatory clarity, India can provide a huge market by attracting crypto-related business and capital. Drafting new legislation compatible with the burgeoning technology and providing support to crypto-related startups is the need of the hour.