China Needed Virtual Currency Ban, but Blockchain Still Has Huge Potential, Finance Academic Says
Chen Yikan
DATE:  Sep 18 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China Needed Virtual Currency Ban, but Blockchain Still Has Huge Potential, Finance Academic Says China Needed Virtual Currency Ban, but Blockchain Still Has Huge Potential, Finance Academic Says

(Yicai Global) Sept. 18 -- China's recent regulatory ban on initial coin offerings and public trading of virtual currencies is totally justified, but blockchain technology's potential use in other areas remains high, Jing Naiquan, associate professor at School of Economics at Zhejiang University, said in an interview with Yicai Global Sept. 16. 

"Shunning ICOs as a popular application of blockchain does not necessarily mean that the technology itself is wrong. It can still be applied in many other areas and scenarios and has excellent growth prospects," Jing said.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are actually not currencies, he added, they are actually just investment products. Speculators bid up their prices, and risk exposure continues to grow, leading to an increasing number of financial scams related to ICO activities.

However, the government did not declare bitcoin and digital assets illegal despite calling a halt on virtual currency trading. As regulation technology continues to develop, and investors become more rational, Jing predicts the government to lift the trading ban in the future.

Follow Yicai Global on
Keywords:   Financial Regulation,Blockchain Technology,Cryptocurrency Trading,Bitcoin Market