By
Mayowa Adebajo
April 24th, 2024
The Chinese President Xi Jinping makes pro-blockchain statements as Bitcoin price jump more than 13%.
Bitcoin prices which have been sliding for the past few days recovered slightly after President Xi Jinping was reported to have made statements that support the Chinese use and adoption of Blockchain technology. Sources indicate that the statements credited to the President of the World’s second-largest economy were first reported by Chinese media sources.
Speaking on Thursday at the 8th collective study of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee in Beijing Xi said:
“[We must] clarify the main direction, increase investment, focus on a number of key core technologies, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation.”
In what is believed to be his first set o statements on the blockchain technology, this indicates that the Chinese are willing to make moves in the direction of implementation of blockchain technology at the very least of pro-cryptocurrency at best. These statements, of course, helped buoy up bitcoin prices as the prices have been sliding downwards for the past week or so. The markets began to take off a few hours after the comments were reported in Chinese state media.
The Chinese have been known for their cautious approach towards cryptocurrencies. The Chinese authorities have heavily regulated the trading of cryptocurrencies and have altogether banned cryptocurrency exchanges on the Chinese mainland since the 2017 speculative bubble although ownership of cryptocurrency tokens is permitted. There have also been rumors about the creation of a national Chinese cryptocurrency which will function alongside the Renminbi.
In all in is safe to place bets on the fact that when the President of a country that has about 25% of the World’s population makes pro-blockchain statements it then means that blockchain technology and the crypto space are a big deal.
In addition to the Chinese President’s statements some other factors also brought succor to the crypto space. The CME futures expired today at exactly 4.00 pm. Being the last Friday of the month, there has always been the net effect on CME futures and Bitcoin prices although the effect has begun to wane in recent times. With the expiration of the futures, Bitcoin prices stopped facing the downward pressure brought on by traders who were shorting prices intentionally. As such, Bitcoin prices also took a natural upward lift which added to the positive sentiment that the Chinese president evoked with his comments.
The arrest of Ivan Manuel Molina Lee also added a positive boost to Bitcoin prices as well. Lee had been accused by the Polish authorities of being part of an international drug cartel. This generated waves throughout the crypto space and the premier cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex which was hit hard through the loss of almost $1 Billion also had reason to breathe as the monies frozen during the investigation will be returned by the authorities to the cryptocurrency exchange.
The above have indicated that the crypto space is responding to realtime events and is not being manipulated by any forces. This also shows one thing which everyone interested in the crypto space has been waiting for: maturity of the marketplace.
For now, though, the Chinese have made their stand and it is with crypto. As at the time of filing this report Bitcoin prices stood at $8607.59 which is a 14.65% increase in the last twenty-four hours.