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Difficult to understand at this point what this decision really means. Are bitcoins still able to be traded as a commodity but not currency? What does "The pub

by bobbles 13y ago

Difficult to understand at this point what this decision really means. Are bitcoins still able to be traded as a commodity but not currency? What does "The public is free to participate in Internet transactions provided they take on the risk themselves, it said" even mean? Are they saying people deciding to exchange goods and services for bitcoin is ok, but not exchanging it directly into currency? If anyone has actual insight or knowledge here it would be greatly appreciated.

rtpg 13y ago
A guess, but I imagine that chinese bank deposits are insured by the central bank, and that The gov't doesn't want to deal with bitcoins losing a bunch of value from one day to the next.
nazgulnarsil 13y ago
it might mean that currently operating exchanges need licenses, need to confirm IDs, or even get shut down. Shrug. Wild West.
- eterm 13y ago
  I read it as the opposite, that trading websites effectively cannot be licensed. This keeps the inherent risk with the buyers.
rahimnathwani 13y ago
Reading the original announcement (http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/goutongjiaoliu/524/2013/20131205153156832222251/20131205153156832222251_.html http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/goutongjiaoliu/524/2013/201312...), three things seems clear: 1) People may buy Bitcoins if they like. 2) People may sell Bitcoins if they like. 3) Banks may not sell Bitcoins as they are not 货币 (money). 4) Products offered for sale may not be priced in Bitcoin, as it is not 货币。 As far as I'm aware, no large ecommerce sites in China display prices in anything other than CNY, and none accept anything other than CNY (cash, bank transfers, bank-issued payment cards, CNY-denominated vouchers). If I could pay for things online using Bitcoin, maybe I (and others in China) would start keeping some Bitcoin in an online wallet, in the same way we currently keep some money in 支付宝 (Alipay). From there, it would be easy to slide into mass speculation, which seems to be what the government doesn't want.

by bobbles 13y ago

rtpg 13y ago

A guess, but I imagine that chinese bank deposits are insured by the central bank, and that The gov't doesn't want to deal with bitcoins losing a bunch of value from one day to the next.

nazgulnarsil 13y ago

it might mean that currently operating exchanges need licenses, need to confirm IDs, or even get shut down. Shrug. Wild West.

eterm 13y ago
I read it as the opposite, that trading websites effectively cannot be licensed. This keeps the inherent risk with the buyers.

rahimnathwani 13y ago

Reading the original announcement (http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/goutongjiaoliu/524/2013/20131205153156832222251/20131205153156832222251_.html http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/goutongjiaoliu/524/2013/201312...), three things seems clear: 1) People may buy Bitcoins if they like. 2) People may sell Bitcoins if they like. 3) Banks may not sell Bitcoins as they are not 货币 (money). 4) Products offered for sale may not be priced in Bitcoin, as it is not 货币。 As far as I'm aware, no large ecommerce sites in China display prices in anything other than CNY, and none accept anything other than CNY (cash, bank transfers, bank-issued payment cards, CNY-denominated vouchers). If I could pay for things online using Bitcoin, maybe I (and others in China) would start keeping some Bitcoin in an online wallet, in the same way we currently keep some money in 支付宝 (Alipay). From there, it would be easy to slide into mass speculation, which seems to be what the government doesn't want.