The current Bitcoin situation in China remains rather vague for now. We know all major exchanges will halt CNY trading at the end of October. It also appears OTC and P2P trading service providers may be affected. One particular industry related to Bitcoin will not see major changes, though. According to John McAfee, mining Bitcoin and altcoins is not on the PBoC’s radar. A very interesting statement, although nothing has officially been confirmed by the institution in this regard.
With the Bitcoin crackdown taking place in China, there are more questions than answers. It also appears there is a lot of unfounded panic. Trading of cryptocurrency against the Yuan will indeed be halted in a few weeks. Until that time, users can still complete trades without issue. Moreover, crypto-to-crypto exchanges will continue unabated. However, it remains to be seen how things will play out in the mining industry.
John McAfee Isn’t Worried About Mining in China
More specifically, a lot of Bitcoin’s mining efforts are run out of China. All of the major mining pools are located in this country. China is also home to one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency ASIC hardware manufacturers. If this crackdown was permanent, such companies should need to be concerned. According to John McAfee, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. He claims the mining industry will not be affected in any capacity. A very bold claim, although it remains to be seen if he is correct.
They are not.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) September 18, 2017
On paper, it wouldn’t make much sense for Chinese regulators to prohibit cryptocurrency mining. After all, they aren’t banning cryptocurrency itself by any means. Instead, they are trying to curb Yuan-based capital outflows. Bitcoin and altcoins effectively allow users to bypass capital restrictions in the country. This has been a thorn in the side of the PBoC for some time now. It is still possible this measure is only temporary, though. John McAfee didn’t comment on that particular aspect for the time being.
It is evident John McAfee is still bullish on Bitcoin. After all, he predicts a $500,000 value per BTC in less than three years from now. It is in his best interest to not see things go awry thanks to Chinese regulators.It also appears McAfee is a big fan of Bitcoin Cash. Whether or not that is a smart decision, remains unknown at this point. The Bitcoin situation in China is still developing as we speak. If mining operations are forced to shut down, things will get ugly very fast.