Chinese Yuan Now Below 1% of Total Bitcoin Trading Volume, Down From Peak of 90%

In an attempt to stem growing enthusiasm for cryptocurrency trading among the Chinese public, the Chinese government has been cracking down hard on cryptocurrency traders and speculators, banning cryptocurrency exchanges and outlawing ICOs.

The ban seems to have had the desired effect, as the Peoples Bank of China issued a statement through state media this week claiming the yuan now accounts for less than 1% of total Bitcoin exchange volume.

The ICO ban was instituted by the Chinese government after an investigation committee voiced concerns that ICOs were seriously disrupting the economic and financial order, and were contributing to the proliferation of Ponzi schemes and financial scams.

At the time of the ban, the two largest exchanges OkCoin and Huobi had travel bans placed on their executives, pending government investigations into their compliance.

In response, many Chinese citizens opted to transfer their Bitcoin to offshore exchanges in order to continue trading.

In February 2018 the Chinese government cracked down once again by banning citizens from any sort of cryptocurrency related trading.

The government blacklisted over 50 different exchange websites in an attempt to curb the trading activity.

Despite the banning of cryptocurrency trading, the Chinese government has taken steps to reassure the public that the issue is with cryptocurrencies, and not with the underlying blockchain technology.

In addition to funding innovation, the Government has publically backed several cryptocurrency projects including NEO, VeChain, and Qtum.

It is clear from the approach of the Chinese government that they are interested in overseeing the nascent industry, and view blockchain and cryptocurrencies as both an opportunity and a threat.