There are rumors about the fact that the Chinese government may be planning to ban crypto-currency exchanges from trading.
Yes, despite the ban on ICO, the Chinese government is suspected to want to ban all crypto-currencies including Bitcoin, Etherem and Steem!
While we do not believe that will happen as we explained in a former post, it is worth discussing to detail the consequences of such an action - should it happen.
Can crypto-currencies be banned?
NO. Why?
- Crypto-currencies are voluntary currencies and as along as there is someone willing to use them, they will continue to exist
- China does not "own" or "rule" over the crypto-currency industry. China could only make crypto-currencies illegal within its borders
- Legal or not, Chinese people will still use crypto-currencies
Why do governments want to ban crypto-currencies?
Governments give several reasons including;
- they threaten the monetary monopoly of central banks
- they serve as channels for criminals to launder money
- they are filled with scams since the industry is not regulated
- they facilitate financial transfers for terrorists
- blah, blah, blah...
What happens when anyone tries to ban cryptocurrencies?
Mostly, it is governments who will try to ban cryptocurrency, however these are the consequences;
- the movement moves underground and become even more entreanched
- it becomes more valuable due to the high demand but limited availability - just like drugs
- the economy looses billions and trillions of dollars which could have come in from ICOs
- after years of failing to suppress it, the administration which suppress it is overthrown by political rivals
What could China/governments do?
Instead of fighting the Blockchain or cryptocurrency market, @BlockRush believes that governments should rather befriend them.
Blockchain technology was built for anarchism so attempting to fight it will only be like putting it to use. There is a saying:
if you can't beat them, join them
Over 100 of the world's top banks including;
- the World's Bank,
- the formidable Bank of England,
- People's Central Bank of China,
- Bank of Canada,
- Goldman Sachs, Santander,
- Morgan Stanley,
- the mighty Barclays,
- BBVA,
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
- Credit Suisse,
- Goldman Sachs,
- J.P. Morgan,
- Royal Bank of Scotland,
- State Street,
- UBS,
- Bank of America,
- BNY Mellon,
- Citi,
- Commerzbank,
- Deutsche Bank,
- HSBC,
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group,
- Morgan Stanley,
- National Australia Bank,
- Royal Bank of Canada,
- Société Générale,
- Wells Fargo
are using or developing Blockchain/cryptocurrency technologies, so why won't governments jump onboard?
Back to the question, Will China suppress crypto-currencies?
Well, only time will tell. However if they do, then we already know of the potential consequences;
- loss of economic wealth
- political instability
- more entrenched underground activities