2013-12-05

Bitcoin in China


HONG KONG — China moved on Thursday to restrict its banks from using Bitcoin as currency, citing concerns about money laundering and a threat to financial stability.

The action comes as monetary authorities around the world have begun to confront the issue of Bitcoin, a virtual currency whose value has soared in recent months as interest in it has spread. Part of its rise has been driven by intense demand for the virtual currency in China. 

The notice curtailing financial institutions’ involvement with Bitcoin was issued by the People’s Bank of China and four other ministries and agencies, and the directive said the step was needed to “protect the status of the renminbi as the statutory currency, prevent risks of money laundering and protect financial stability.” 

The notice said that Bitcoin was “not a currency in the real meaning of the word” but was rather a “virtual commodity that does not share the same legal status of a currency. Nor can, or should, it be circulated or used in the marketplace as a currency.” 
 
In China, Bitcoin was starting to gain favor even among merchants. In the Chaoyang district in Beijing, a restaurant started accepting Bitcoins for payment in defiance of earlier regulation stating that virtual currencies could not be used to purchase real-life goods or services. 

But in its statement Thursday, the Chinese central bank raised questions about whether Bitcoin could ever gain true legitimacy as legal tender: “In essence, Bitcoin is a kind of special virtual commodity, and does not have the same legal status as a currency.” 

“Currently, the public lacks sufficient understanding of Bitcoin, and some individuals have been caught up by faddishness or a speculative mentality in holding, using and trading in Bitcoins,” the statement said.

Įdomu - ir mūsų apipavidalintojas sinchronizavosi su Kinijos centriniu banku.

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Pamokymai:

But make no mistake, Bitcoin is not the currency of the future.
It has no intrinsic value.

Now this idea of "intrinsic value" when it comes to currency bothers people, and Bitcoin Bugs will immediately ask why the U.S. dollar has intrinsic value.

There's an answer to that.

The U.S. Dollar has intrinsic value because the U.S. government which sets the laws of doing business in the United States says it has intrinsic value.

If you want to conduct commerce in the United States you have to pay taxes, and there's only one currency you're allowed to pay taxes in: U.S. dollars.

There's no getting around this fact.

Furthermore, if you want to use the banking system at all, there's no choice but to use U.S. dollars, because that's the currency of the Fed which is behind the whole thing.

On top of all these laws requiring the U.S. dollar to be used, the United States has a gigantic military that can force people around the world to use dollars (if it came to that) so yes, there's a lot of real-world value behind greenbacks.

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