China’s new crypto ban is more bark, less bite: Industry watchers

Shanghai: China’s latest salvo against cryptocurrencies has driven a brutal selloff in bitcoin markets but retail traders, miners and even crypto finance firms reckon Beijing’s bark is louder than its bite.

China extending its crypto ban to include banks and payments companies offering crypto-related services furthered a selloff that briefly wiped $1 trillion off crypto market capitalisation.

But fears that the rules would cripple cryptocurrency markets and mining on the Chinese mainland appear baseless. Cryptocurrencies could still be bought from China on Thursday and investment schemes promising juicy returns for mining them remained operational.