There is still much indecision about Blockchain in the Eastern world.
Last year in September, the country’s national bank, the People’s Bank of Chain (PBOC) banned Initial Coin Offerings within the country. After careful consideration, they deemed about 90% of ICOs in the country to be fraudulent. Since then, the country has also called for a ban on cryptocurrency trading websites and even the mining of digital currency.
Recently, the South China Morning Post’s website reported that there are no longer any traces of search terms such as “Bitcoin”, “cryptocurrency” or “ICO’ on the Chinese search engine Baidu or Weibo, a sort of Chinese Twitter.
In an email, Weibo confirmed that cryptocurrency advertising will no longer be allowed on their platform. After the initial ban on cryptocurrency advertising in August 2016, Baidu had re-allowed advertising without explication, before finally banning them again.
Common Ground Between Millions of Individuals
The Ban on cryptocurrency advertising in China comes after a ban by the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook. The head of the network, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he would fight against “’Financial products and services that are associated with a breach of trust or intrusive promotional practices.”
In California, the Menlo Park Historical Association is poised to protect itself from controversy and prosecution in a world where it is still difficult to distinguish fact from fiction. Bitcoin supporters have also lent their support. According to one Reddit user, “No one will say that he or she has bought cryptocurrency because they are convinced by a Facebook advertisement of its ill-repute, without any further research.”
The Sun Never Sets on the Eastern Empire
In a continent that has been polarized by a power struggle between China and Japan, the answer came from Line, the most popular messaging app in Asia.
With around nearly half of billion users, where 40 million of them have made an estimated $4 billion dollars’ worth of purchases, Line has now confirmed the arrival of a new “revolutionary financial service.”
In a recent press release, Line has also proposed a cryptocurrency exchange platform, as well as loans and insurance that will be available about through the app.
“I do not see any problem,” said Hiromi Yamaoka, director of the Payment and Regulatory Division of the Bank of Japan, about the recent cryptocurrency frenzy.
While the ban on cryptocurrency is consistent with the ideology of a communist state, this news comes as a shock in contrast with further promises of a more liberal economy in China.
For now, Chinese cryptographers seem to be gradually moving to less hostile parts of Asia.
Singapore and Japan are two countries that are benefitting from what has been known as a “crypto exodus.”
