Although the digital asset industry is still very banned in China, an executive from one of the country's largest companies is optimistic about cryptocurrencies.
The Chinese government has spared no effort in cracking down on cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, the industry has undergone tremendous development and continues to attract the imagination of many people. Cai Chongxin, who happens to be the executive vice chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, recently shared his feelings on Twitter in three simple words. He said: "I like encryption."
Tsai Ing-wen is bullish on cryptocurrencies
Joe Tsai's latest comments on encryption caused a frenzy in the Weibo space. For laymen, Tsai is a Taiwanese billionaire who also owns the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Interestingly, the Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Kevin Durant happens to be an investor in Coinbase. The NBA star and 35 of his companies have recently established strategic partnerships with cryptocurrency exchanges.
In addition, this is not the first time Tsai Ing-wen has supported cryptocurrencies. In an interview with Sportico's Brendan Coffey in August, the executive talked about media convergence, sports betting and cryptocurrency. His words are,
"Media, sports betting, cryptocurrency-we see all these things gradually converge," Cai explained. "Nowadays, you can't talk about sports betting without thinking about how sports betting affects your media rights. Perhaps, for the betting fan base, it would be interesting to inject a little cryptocurrency."
A tryst between Alibaba and cryptocurrency
Despite Tsai Ing-wen’s latest comments on cryptocurrencies, Alibaba has stayed away from the industry. In September this year, the e-commerce giant announced that it would stop selling specialized mining equipment in response to the strict policies of the People's Bank of China.
The company revealed that it will cease operations in two categories-blockchain miner accessories and blockchain miners. It also continues to ban all cryptocurrencies on all its platforms, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Quark, and Litecoin.
2021 can be marked as the year when China's war against Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency has become serious. The crackdown on crypto mining and trading began in May and has quickly intensified. This is a devastating blow to the country's ecosystem. In the once prosperous mining industry, the new tightening policy has almost eliminated institutional mining of cryptocurrencies.
So, at least for now, it is not surprising that Alibaba's tryst with cryptocurrency may be over. However, Metaverse is a completely different dimension, and Chinese technology giants including Alibaba are keen to explore opportunities. In fact, several companies are already scrambling to apply for trademarks related to Metaverse.
Featured image courtesy of BusinessInsider
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