China’s central bank is now calling bitcoin an “investment alternative” — marking a significant shift in Beijing’s tone after a crackdown on cryptocurrency issuance and trading nearly four years ago.
Industry insiders called the comments “progressive” and are watching closely for any regulatory changes made by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
On Sunday, “We regard Bitcoin and stable coin as crypto assets … These are investment alternatives,” Li Bo, deputy governor of the PBOC, said.
“They are not currency per se. And so the main role we see for crypto assets going forward, the main role is investment alternative.”
Bitcoin was up around 2% at 12:25 p.m. Beijing time at over $57,134.04, according to Coindesk data.
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