Italy’s State-Owned Bank Trials Digital Bonds on Polygon Blockchain
The European Central Bank initiated the trial to explore how blockchains can enhance central bank settlement.
Huang Yiping, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has actively advocated for the lifting or easing of the ban on cryptocurrencies in China.
According to a local media outlet, Huang made comments noting that he believes that the outright ban on Bitcoin ($BTC) and all activity related to cryptocurrency will result in missed opportunities to innovate in the financial systems. He spoke up against the ban saying:
“Banning cryptocurrencies may be practical in the short term, but whether it is sustainable in the long run deserves an in-depth analysis. There is no particularly good way to ensure stability and function as to how cryptocurrencies should be regulated, especially for a developing country, but ultimately an effective approach may still need to be found.”
His points pertained to both cryptocurrencies and the opportunity to introduce blockchain-based solutions and tokenisation in the country. He pointed out risks associated with cryptocurrency, but suggested regulatory framework that allows the use of cryptocurrency safely rather than ruling it out with no long-term strategy. He also acknowledged that there might not be a clear solution to effectively regulate cryptocurrencies in China, but believes the benefits of cryptocurrency are still worth considering.
China’s stance on Bitcoin
Currently, China takes an approach that advocates blockchain, but not Bitcoin. President Xi Jinping has endorsed the adoption of the technology.
Despite this, the Chinese government has been aggressively anti-cryptocurrency, which led to a blanket ban on all crypto transactions in 2021.
While it’s not within the legal operations, China still stands as the second largest Bitcoin miner in the world according to data from Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI). This points to a crypto-friendly people in the country still willing to operate cryptocurrency activity and conduct transactions the country in spite of the regulation. The mining rate might not be as high as it was before the ban, but the hashrate in the region shows a strong crypto community.