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Ask HN: Did You hear China is cracking down on crypto? If so how many times?

3 points by sigmaprimus 5y ago

Just wondering if anyone else noticed what seems to be a coordinated propaganda attack against BTC in the form of multiple articles re-announcing China's anti crypto efforts.

PaulHoule 5y ago
When a big story like that breaks it gets covered by the big newspapers first like the New York Times, goes on the AP newswire, gets covered in the small newspapers, next week it will be talked about in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡 and 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑔 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘. That's why they call it "The News Cycle". Consider a case like https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqKAgKIiJDQkFTRXdvTkwyY3ZNVEZ3TVRoNk1ESTJlaElDWlc0b0FBUAE?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqKAgKIiJDQkFTRXdvTkwyY3ZNV...
- a0-prw 5y ago
  The link is to a story of a completely different kind. It appeals to a "virtuous salaciousness" in human nature, which signals high morals, but actually gets a kick out of the lurid. The OP asks about wether the stories might be anti-btc propaganda. It's a reasonable question, though considering where the stories are coming from it's also possible that it's anti-China propaganda I experienced the MSM campaigns in the build up to war on Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. I am suspicious of anything they report. In this case, however I think it's just because both BTC and China generate clicks.
  - PaulHoule 5y ago
    Either kind of story pulls at people’s emotions. For instance a person who owns a lot of Bitcoin might be afraid of losing money. A person who is mad that he can’t get a 3080 to game with could be gloating. How is it propaganda? It’s a fact that the Chinese government is taking action, that will have a real effect on crypto markets simply because China is so big. Do you think it’s a setup for crypto being banned in other places? I can’t rule that out but China is famous for draconian policies like ‘your one child can play online games for one hour a week’. Somehow people who live and breathe Hayek and Rand insist on libertarianism for the other 200 countries in the world but are drawn to Communism like a moth to a flame. Just because China did that doesn’t mean other countries will.
swiley 5y ago
I’ve been hearing exactly this since I started messing with crypto in 2011.

3 points by sigmaprimus 5y ago

Just wondering if anyone else noticed what seems to be a coordinated propaganda attack against BTC in the form of multiple articles re-announcing China's anti crypto efforts.

PaulHoule 5y ago

When a big story like that breaks it gets covered by the big newspapers first like the New York Times, goes on the AP newswire, gets covered in the small newspapers, next week it will be talked about in 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡 and 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑔 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘. That's why they call it "The News Cycle". Consider a case like https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqKAgKIiJDQkFTRXdvTkwyY3ZNVEZ3TVRoNk1ESTJlaElDWlc0b0FBUAE?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen https://news.google.com/topics/CAAqKAgKIiJDQkFTRXdvTkwyY3ZNV...

a0-prw 5y ago
The link is to a story of a completely different kind. It appeals to a "virtuous salaciousness" in human nature, which signals high morals, but actually gets a kick out of the lurid. The OP asks about wether the stories might be anti-btc propaganda. It's a reasonable question, though considering where the stories are coming from it's also possible that it's anti-China propaganda I experienced the MSM campaigns in the build up to war on Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. I am suspicious of anything they report. In this case, however I think it's just because both BTC and China generate clicks.
- PaulHoule 5y ago
  Either kind of story pulls at people’s emotions. For instance a person who owns a lot of Bitcoin might be afraid of losing money. A person who is mad that he can’t get a 3080 to game with could be gloating. How is it propaganda? It’s a fact that the Chinese government is taking action, that will have a real effect on crypto markets simply because China is so big. Do you think it’s a setup for crypto being banned in other places? I can’t rule that out but China is famous for draconian policies like ‘your one child can play online games for one hour a week’. Somehow people who live and breathe Hayek and Rand insist on libertarianism for the other 200 countries in the world but are drawn to Communism like a moth to a flame. Just because China did that doesn’t mean other countries will.

swiley 5y ago

I’ve been hearing exactly this since I started messing with crypto in 2011.