China seems to be softening its position on cryptocurrency

In an unexpected move, an important Chinese state bank has published what appears to be a positive infographic on its website which describes in detail the history of Bitcoin and some basic concepts of cryptocurrency. The infographic notes the impressive gains that Bitcoin has recently benefited from and seems to address the relevance of cryptocurrency in today's world.

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading in China has been illegal since the country banned Bitcoin trade in 2017. While the ban has forced some trade to move their operations to other countries, it is believed that millions of Chinese citizens continue to trade cryptocurrencies with subversive means. Although trading is banned, cryptocurrency mining in the country is still legal and it is estimated that 60 percent of all Bitcoin hash power comes from China.

Even the main American financial magazine Forbes reported on development, citing a Tweet from the Bitcoin developer and the popular cryptographic entry Samson Mow, the head of the strategy of the big blockchain company Blockstream. Mow mentioned his surprise at seeing the infographic on the Bank of China website, stating: "I never thought I'd see it happen."

The unexpected move was widely considered very "bullish" among cryptocurrency investors and could accelerate massive growth in the sector. With a population of 1.4 billion, any favorable change in the law by the Chinese government could be extremely positive news for cryptocurrency.

The change follows a recent legal ruling by the Chinese Court in Hangzhou in China that classified Bitcoin as a product that should be considered "digital property". While the sentence has not gone so far as to give it a status of "legal currency", the recognition by an authoritative body is proof of the change of mentality within the country.

>> The Bitcoin offer now has 85% in circulation: will the "scarcity" get under way?

Improvement of the adoption of cryptocurrency and of the cases of use

In recent years it has become all too easy to look at Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general, as nothing but a trading commodity.

It was never meant to be that way. Bitcoin was created as an alternative to the tired and obsolete fiat model that the world currently uses, and it is important to remember this fact and continue to fight for a day when cryptocurrency is as easy to spend as the more "traditional" currencies.

The main cryptographic payment gateway Coinpayments has recently formed a partnership with the directory listing site Cryptwerk, with a move that will undoubtedly help to increase adoption in the industry. In the press release on the partnership, Sean Mackay of Operations at Coinpayments raised an interesting point when he said it "It is important to remember not only to increase your cryptocurrency, but also to spend it to increase adoption. Since cryptographic space is still in its infancy, cryptocurrency spending and transfer have never been more important!"

2019 has been an exceptional year for Bitcoin so far, with assets rising by over 200 percent since January. The growth was largely attributed to the revelation that social media Behemoth Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is considering developing its blockchain-based payment service. Some now believe that China's change in perspective could be the result of the positive attention that Facebook has brought to the industry. In the United States, however, lawmakers have been less than in love from the plans, implementing a series of discussions to assess the potential impact of this development.

While overly rigid legislation could be considered detrimental to the industry, better regulation is needed if Bitcoin ever hopes to be used as a real currency. Cryptocurrency traders certainly enjoy the gains that can be obtained from the high volatility of the market, but it is equally important to remember that Bitcoin was created as a means to make peer-to-peer money transactions.

Disclaimer: I currently hold a small amount of Bitcoins, XRPs and ETHs.

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Presentation Image: DepositPhotos © Alan