In China, cryptocurrencies are ostensibly banned, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t demand for digital assets within the Chinese economy.
It seems that many citizens and businesses in the country are expressly interested in the development of new crypto coins.
Analysis done over the past few weeks shows the Chinese are intensely focused on Facebook’s Libra coin, with Daniel Palmer at Coindesk noting a proliferation of search activity centered on the social media behemoth’s emerging stablecoin option even though that coin is currently tied up with regulators.
Today, William Suberg at Cointelegraph reports on sentiment from Ren Zhengfei, the CEO of Chinese telecom firm Huawei, who’s suggesting that rather than sitting on its hands, China can design its own cryptocurrency to provide that outlet for those interested in holding digital assets.
“China can also issue such a currency by itself,” Zhengfei reportedly said. “Why wait for others to issue it? The power of a country is always stronger than an Internet company,”
For reference, Huawei is the firm that the U.S. tried to drum out of international trade, accusing it of using its products and service to spy – except that gambit fell flat on its face with American chip makers complaining that they need to source from Huawei.
The conversation on a central digital coin seems like very interesting timing – Facebook’s announcement of the stablecoin and subsequent speculation about U.S. and Chinese involvement comes after in the wake of unprecedented new tariff activity and trade conflict mainly generated by the U.S. president and exacerbated on both sides of the diplomatic field.
For traders, many questions remain about how adoption in either U.S. or China will affect portfolios. It’s a good idea to keep a handle on the geopolitical aspects of cryptocurrency evolution as you decide what to hold and what to sell.
