China’s Blockchain-Not-Bitcoin Stance Reaffirmed on State TV

The nearly hour-long program has reaffirmed past speculations that the Chinese government is still in no mood to embrace decentralized digital currencies. In fact, it had some rather harsh adjectives such as “illegal ponzi,” “financial fraud”, and “illegal security” to describe most cryptocurrencies and ICOs. The only solace for the broader cryptocurrency community is perhaps in the fact that the program refrained from painting Bitcoin, specifically, with the same brush — though one may assume it falls under the same umbrella.

China: ‘Blockchain Is No ATM Machine’

The CCTV program in question is Focus Report, which basically presents in-depth commentaries on burning socioeconomic issues. Today’s edition of the show was entirely dedicated to blockchain technology and its offshoots. Primarily, the show spoke favorably of blockchain technology, which has gained a lot of affection from the communist regime of late — leading many to speculate if Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could expect a similar affection from an erstwhile-hostile establishment. According to Dovey Wan, President Xi said that, despite appearing attractive today, most public blockchain-based crypto-projects could “be on the list of crime” in the foreseeable future. [Editor’s Note (2019-11-09, 2:19 UTC): After publishing this article, the accuracy of Wan’s tweets has been called into question. The video clip she shared — which BeInCrypto did not publish — was from the past and was apparently shared as it is somewhat of a ‘meme.’ (See the follow-up tweet below.) The article has been updated for clarity.]

Xi was saying in that clip (not a word by word translation as it’s quite verbal)

“Even tho these seem to be lively and vibrant today, tomorrow they may all be on the list (of crime)”

— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🪐🦖 (@DoveyWan) November 18, 2019

the original tweet thread with all screenshots of the TV program (Focus Report) and explanation of the narrative

I should have used the Xi video clip (meme) at the end to concluded the whole narrative explanation of it not the top

— Dovey 以德服人 Wan 🪐🦖 (@DoveyWan) November 19, 2019

No Harsh Words Against Bitcoin (Specifically)

While the CCTV show did indicate that the government is not in favor of public blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, it didn’t pinpoint Bitcoin specifically as “fraudulent” or an imminent threat. Recently, the official mouthpiece of the ruling dispensation had called Bitcoin the first successful application blockchain technology. The state-backed media has been proactively urging cryptocurrency traders not to mistake the government’s blockchain push as tacit approval for Bitcoin, however, as BeInCrypto has previously reported. On a related note, China is preparing to launch its own central bank-backed digital currency called DCEP. However, there won’t be any decentralization element to it.

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