China's central bank or the POBC (People's Bank of China) this week described Bitcoin as an “investment alternative”, a slight change in tone after the apex bank cracked down on crypto trading 4 years ago.
Experts have called this recent description a progressive one, claiming that it could lead to regulatory changes in how Bitcoin is viewed in the country. Speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia, Deputy Governor of the PBOC, Li Bo, unequivocally stated that the apex bank regards Bitcoin and Stablecoins as crypto assets and investment alternatives.
Although one of the biggest buyers of Bitcoin, the PBOC in a bid to regulate this digital asset placed an indefinite ban on Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), an avenue of raising money for crypto start-ups by issuing tokens to investors. A few months later, the bank also shut down all crypto exchanges in the country, citing financial instability as a crux.
Speaking further, Li Bo disclosed that as an investment alternative, countries and governments including China and the PBOC are looking into it and are constantly looking for the right regulatory requirements to be meted out.
Describing the statement as “progressive”, CEO of Babel Finance, Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Yang, while speaking to reporters revealed that albeit this does not mean anything at the moment, there's a significant change in how the POBC views Bitcoin now.