Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Bitcoin’s comeback in China

According to the Financial Times, Bitcoin has bounced back in China after financial institutions were banned from doing business with Bitcoin exchanges last month.  The comeback has helped push the digital payment protocol back above $1,000 a unit.

OneBitcoin exchange, BTCtrade, has continued using a third-party payment provider despite China’s central bank having banned connections with Bitcoin exchanges.  According to the Financial Times, BTCtrade hasn’t yet received a formal notice from regulators to cease and desist, and therefore remains active.

Meanwhile other exchanges have looked for loopholes in doing business with China.  Huobi, a Beijing-based exchange, allows users to make direct deposits in its own corporate bank account, according to FT, after which the company transfers the money to ts trading platform.

In the U.S., Bitcoin has been helped by gaming company Zynga’s recent move to begin accepting the virtual currency.  Player’s of Zynga’s popular FarmVille 2 and other social network games will have the option to make in-game purchases using Bitcoin, according to reports.  [Source: Financial Times, “Bitcoin bounces back in China to top $1,000,” by Simon Rabinovitch, 1/6/14]

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