Some years back, the Chinese government banned all cryptocurrency-related transactions in the country, effectively suppressing what could have been the largest crypto market in the world. The huge Chinese population indicates as much.
In fact, it’s due to the Asian government’s stringent measures against the crypto industry that drove exchanges like Binance out of Asia. When Binance started, it was based in China, but the bad blood between the authorities and the crypto market was too much. Binance is now based out in Malta, the world’s crypto haven.
The Bitcoin Situation In China
As much as cryptocurrencies haven’t had a good breathing space in China, Bitcoin has defied the odds to win a few battles. Just recently, a crypto miner won a court case in Shenzhen City. The City is known as one of China’s tech city, and that means that it’s not really opposed to crypto and blockchain technology.
In the ruling, the court judged that Bitcoin was considered an economic asset and therefore could be used as a valid means of transacting or doing business. As such, Bitcoin earns the status of an acceptable means of payment in an environment largely opposed to it. However, the court clarified that Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, was still not a legal tender in the country. That’s pretty understandable, especially considering that even the countries that support the cryptocurrency are yet to validate it as legal tender.
The Miracle Ad
That said, there has been another noticeable incident relating to cryptocurrencies in China. At a subway station right in the country’s capital, Beijing, an Ad stands out. What catches the eye is the fact that this ad is not just an ordinary advert. It’s something related to Bitcoin. In a tweet, cnLedger shared the photo of the ad.
A rare scene to see! #Bitcoin related advertisement was found inside a Beijing subway station. pic.twitter.com/QEQgrM1Tv4
— cnLedger (@cnLedger) November 23, 2018
The ad is written in Chinese, but cnLedger did great providing a translation that reads thus:
“The first country you can buy the citizenship using Bitcoin. Do you know where it is?”
In particular, this ad highlights Bitcoin’s status as a popular cryptocurrency that’s been adopted in various forms. As a matter of fact, there have been various developments across the world, with various industry, especially the hospitality industry, adjusting their systems to enable Bitcoin payments. That’s beside the 4,000 Bitcoin ATMs already operating around the world.
