The Chinese blockchain and cryptocurrency space has gotten much more vibrant than ever before. A string of government endorsements seems to have emboldened financial institutions to dip their toes into actually utilizing blockchain technology — and perhaps even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
It all started on Oct 24, when Chinese President Xi Jinping appeared at a Politburo Committee session on blockchain technology trends and practically labeled blockchain as a key to infrastructural and technological development.
China Gives the Green Light
As previously reported by Beincrypto, President Xi Jinping touted advancements in Chinese infrastructure, which he sees as a launchpad for the country to capitalize on blockchain’s potential to improve every aspect of daily life.
He also added that China should be at the forefront of standardizing blockchain research, thus leading the charge for the technology’s development globally. Following Xi’s comments, Li Wei, the Director of Science and Technology at the Peoples Bank of China, also gave a ringing endorsement of blockchain in transforming the global economy as a whole. Not one to miss out on the opportunity, China’s financial sector is taking a stab at Bitcoin.
Chinese Companies Eye Bitcoin
In the early hours of Monday, Dovey Wan, a partner at blockchain investment firm Primitive Ventures, tweeted that the China Merchants Bank, a commercial banking institution based out of Shenzhen, had invested in the non-custodial crypto wallet BitPie.
China… China Merchant Bank just announced invested in BitPie, the Bitcoin wallet with longest history and most users back in China …
😳😳😳
Tho it’s a non-custodial wallet there can be a non-zero chance ….[redacted] 🤐🤐🤐
— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🗝 🦖 (@DoveyWan) October 28, 2019
BitPie is reportedly one of the most popular crypto wallets used by Chinese investors. The non-custodial wallet has its roots deeply embedded in Beijing but it currently operates out of Australia.
While none of the parties have released an official statement at the time of writing, this potential partnership is a big deal. As Wan further put it, this investment could be the beginning of China’s nationalization of all crypto infrastructure — a move that would end with the government owning all facets of the country’s crypto space.
Given that Beijing has been constantly linked with the development of a state-backed asset — this is possible. It might not be necessarily legalizing Bitcoin or any other asset, but this entire play could be an elaborate attempt to consolidate the crypto space in order to keep it under state control.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter.
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