Chinese regulators are beginning to study and rethink the Bitcoin industry

After the news that the Chinese government's attitude towards Bitcoin may change, CoinTelegraph immediately interviewed Huobi, one of the largest Bitcoin trading platforms in China, to gain a deeper understanding of the future of Bitcoin in China. The Beijing-based company has recently experienced a record-breaking Bitcoin trading volume. It is worth noting that Huobi's Bitcoin RMB spot trading is free, but a handling fee is charged for Bitcoin in US dollars.

“ The Chinese government may fully study and follow up on the US regulatory measures and consequences in a timely manner to establish our own regulatory mechanism.” —Huobi Analysis Team

[The following answers are provided by several Huobi team members including CEO Li Lin]

Cointelegraph ( CT ) : How would you interpret the recent Bitcoin-related articles published by People's Daily to the West? Do you agree that we have entered the " post-Bitcoin era " ?

Huobi: The recent US regulation of Bitcoin has set an example for other countries, including China. We agree that entering the post-Bitcoin era will become the only way for the mainstream development of China's Bitcoin industry. From volatility to stability requires rationality and standardization . The Chinese government may fully study and follow up on the US regulatory measures and aftereffects in a timely manner to establish our own regulatory mechanism. In this way, Huobi and other Bitcoin trading platforms can compete in a healthy manner under a standardized legal framework, thereby promoting the development of the digital currency industry. From a financial perspective, I think Bitcoin can be regarded as an investment product similar to gold or a global standardized digital asset. In the future, Bitcoin will be accepted by more companies and individuals as blockchain technology is widely used, but it still has a long way to go before it can become a circulating currency.

CT: Huobi’s trading volume has hit a new high recently. What factors do you think are related to this?

Huobi: On October 22 , Huobi.com showed that the daily trading volume of Bitcoin RMB spot market reached 770,000 , which refreshed the daily trading volume record of Bitcoin trading platform. We analyzed that there are three main reasons:

First, the global financial market was sluggish this summer and is now entering a phased rebound. Compared with other markets, Bitcoin has begun to respond quickly. This may be the reason for the increase in trading volume at the macro level. The first global blockchain summit in 2015 , " Blockchain - New Economic Blueprint " , ended in Shanghai, gathering about 200 financial industry professionals from the Central Bank Financial Research Institute, the Central Bank Credit Information Center, etc., including banks, payments, securities, commodities, etc. Li Lin, founder and CEO of Huobi.com, also attended the meeting. We believe that such an industry event has attracted public attention to Bitcoin and blockchain technology, and strengthened investors' confidence. At the same time, Huobi.com also took the lead in launching a five-fold leverage product in September , stimulating users' transactions.

CT : Can you update us on the latest developments of Caimao?   What impact has the bear market had on Caimao’s operations?

Huobi: Caimao.com was created to create a one-stop investment service platform for investors covering global financial products. Currently, the " Caimao Stamps, Coins and Cards " project has been launched, which is also a unique investment market in China. At the same time, we are actively preparing for the launch of the Caimao precious metals project, and will also launch new investment products such as Hong Kong stocks and US stocks by the end of the year. Although the Chinese stock market is currently experiencing a bear market, driven by Internet technology, the Chinese stamps, coins and cards market has developed into a trading and investment market second only to the A- share market. As domestic Bitcoin-related policies become clearer in the future, the connection between various investment products and Bitcoin will gradually get on track.

CT : In a previous interview, you said that the Chinese stock market is hot and worth paying attention to because many Bitcoin traders have switched to the stock market. Now that the market has reversed, do you think these traders will return to trading Bitcoin?

Huobi: In the long run, all financial products, including the stock market, are related to the direction of capital flows and economic cycles. Bitcoin performed well in the last round of global financial market declines. On the one hand, this reflects the market's increasing demand and recognition for Bitcoin as a safe haven, and on the other hand, it is also related to the rapid development of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. " Huobi's daily number of new accounts is now up 127% on average compared to the same period in September . We are happy to see the return of Bitcoin investors. "

In the past two months, the Bitcoin transaction price on Huobi.com has risen rapidly from a low of 1,238 yuan to a high of 1,948 yuan. As of October 11 , the number of newly opened accounts per day has increased by an average of 127% compared to the same period in September . We are happy to see the return of Bitcoin investors.

CT : The Chinese government announced this summer that it would provide financial subsidies to Internet finance companies. Has there been a significant increase in China's Bitcoin startups since the announcement?

Huobi: In July 2015 , with the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission and other ten departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Healthy Development of Internet Finance", which pointed out that it is necessary to encourage innovation and support the steady development of Internet finance, including improving the financing environment and standardizing tax policies. However, this opinion did not clearly classify Bitcoin companies in the field of Internet finance, so it is hard to say whether Bitcoin startups can really benefit from the policy. China's Bitcoin industry has entered a period of rational development. With the existence of established and stable companies in various links such as Bitcoin mining, Bitcoin exchanges, Bitcoin financial management and Bitcoin information, it is difficult for new forces to emerge in the above-mentioned sub-sectors in the short term. Compared with the United States, Chinese entrepreneurs have relatively less investment in the field of Bitcoin applications. Under the policy of the government's vigorous promotion of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, a number of startups based on Bitcoin applications are expected to be born.  

CT: How is the progress of your collaborative project on digital asset research with Tsinghua PBC School of Management ?

Huobi : In April 2015 , Huobi.com signed the "Digital Asset Research Project" with the Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, a research institution of Chinese higher education, and the former Graduate School of the People's Bank of China. After nearly half a year of joint exploration and research, we will soon have a comprehensive, fair and authoritative report on the development of global Bitcoin.

“ Chinese regulators are beginning to study and re-understand the Bitcoin industry ”

Because of the research cooperation with Tsinghua PBC School of Finance, Huobi.com has more opportunities to provide the Chinese regulators with front-line industry development data. In September , members of the " Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Research Group " composed of Liu Jun, director of the Beijing Financial Bureau, and Huang Zhen, director of the Financial Law Institute of the Central University of Finance and Economics, who had facilitated the central bank's five-department document, came to Huobi.com for inspection. The inspection team made clear its recognition of Bitcoin blockchain technology in the meeting and revealed that it was starting to conduct systematic and standardized research from the early stage of the development of the Bitcoin industry .

“ Bitcoin is expected to become an important asset allocation for residents and a safe haven for asset preservation and appreciation when facing short-term financial risks. ”

This means that Chinese regulators have begun to conduct on-site inspections and re-understand and rethink the status of the Bitcoin industry, and Huobi is fortunate to be the only exchange in China's Bitcoin industry to participate in the research project.

CT: When a country's economy is not free and there is a financial crisis (such as Greece), the price of Bitcoin will tend to rise. If there is a new round of global economic crisis, do you think Bitcoin will be a safe haven for many people? Will Chinese people regard Bitcoin as a store of value like gold?

Huobi : Antiques in prosperous times, gold in troubled times, is a Chinese proverb. In the past global economic crises or risk events, many Chinese investors would give priority to safe-haven assets such as gold and silver for value preservation. As a new commodity, Bitcoin is called " electronic gold " by many Chinese investors and has performed well in recent geopolitical turmoil and the Greek crisis. With the CFTC 's clear positioning of Bitcoin as a commodity and the rapid development of blockchain technology, Bitcoin is expected to become an important asset allocation for residents and a safe haven for asset preservation and appreciation in the face of short-term financial risks.