I don't know if you've noticed, but barely a week goes by right now without the Chinese government announcing new population bans. In fact, the pace seems to be picking up in recent days.
For several months we have been witnessing a real takeover of the country by the central government in Beijing. The Chinese Government has been letting things go in many areas for several years, and now the party is over. Xi Jinping wants to show that it is he who has this country in an iron grip.
The episode of Jack Ma, who disappeared for a few weeks after daring to criticize the Chinese Communist Party in late 2020, is still on everyone's mind.
Xi Jinping wants even more control over every aspect of Chinese society
In early September 2021, we learned that Beijing was banning females from national television. At the same time, the Chinese government reminded broadcasters that they must promote the "cultural revolution." This is a way for Beijing to strengthen its control over business and society while reinforcing official morality.
Last week, Beijing reiterated that bitcoin is banned in China with a PBOC (People's Bank of China) statement saying that bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions are illegal. This, of course, caused a stir in the cryptocurrency world and led to the market dropping as usual .
Not many people noticed, but on the same day, China also banned Marvel's Shang-Chi movie. Xi Jinping has a desire to control every aspect of Chinese life, be it economic, cultural or educational.
Everything must be done to preserve the power of the Chinese Communist Party.
The freedom of individuals must therefore be limited within the framework set by the central government in Beijing. It cannot be otherwise. That is why China even banned Winnie the Pooh from China in 2018 for mocking the cartoon character's resemblance to Xi Jinping.
Did you know that #China banned Winnie the Pooh in 2018 because of comparisons to Xi Jinping?
- Sylvain Saurel (@ssaurel) May 23, 2021
Don't give any importance to #China's bans.
Long Winnie the Pooh, Long #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/E0Ejm2BSZ2
You can see how far this can go.
If you bought $1000 worth of BTC every time China banned something, you'd probably be a billionaire today.
China bans bitcoin to make way for people's imposition of the electronic yuan
Seeing China ban bitcoin and repeat this over and over again, when everyone already knows that it should finally be seen as a credit to bitcoin. This is a sign that Bitcoin is seen by Beijing as a guarantee of freedom.
Beijing will not tolerate a monetary system that empowers people. Again, that would be too big a risk.
By banning bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, Beijing also has a very clear strategy, which has already been applied repeatedly over the past twenty years with all the new technologies. China banned Facebook, YouTube, Google and WhatsApp to make room for Chinese competitors like Weibo, Youku, Baidu and WeChat.
In this respect it will not escape your notice that China has been working hard on its central bank digital currency, the e-yuan, for more than two years now . Progress has been very rapid and e-RMB is already in advanced testing in many major Chinese cities.
Now that the e-RMB is very close to being offered or rather being imposed on Chinese citizens, Beijing wants to make room to make sure that the Chinese have no other alternatives available to them. Alternatives that give them more freedom, of course.
While the Chinese people will be hit hard, Bitcoin will continue its revolution with or without China
So it is not surprising that bitcoin is banned by China, as well as cryptocurrencies. That doesn't mean people will stop using these new technologies. It just means that the general public will have little chance of accessing them.
Those who want to buy bitcoin will always find ways. You know what human nature is. When you are forbidden to use something, you want to use it even more. I think it will happen the same way in China.
As for e-RMB, it is the antithesis of bitcoin. An even more dangerous version of fiat currency. Although centralized, the e-RMB will also allow the Chinese government to better monitor all transactions made by the population.
In short, the e-RMB is the last missing piece in the puzzle of China's social credit system, which will allow Xi Jinping to control the country even more tightly. Under these conditions, it seemed obvious that bitcoin should be banned.
While this will not change the future of bitcoin, it will expose Chinese citizens to even more risk in a system that allows them no freedom.