Chinese bitcoin traders still wield enormous influence
Chinese bitcoin traders continue to thrive despite Beijing’s four-year crackdown on cryptocurrencies, experts told CNBC. But tough words from Beijing are not new. In 2017, China shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs), a way to raise money for crypto companies by issuing digital tokens.
China’s role in bitcoin was thrust back into the spotlight last week after authorities reiterated that financial institutions should not get involved in cryptocurrency businesses such as trading or helping to exchange fiat into digital coins. These were not new regulations. But it was one of the reasons for the plunge in bitcoin last Wednesday, which at one point fell 30% to just over $30,000 before seeing a recovery.
What has happened to Chinese bitcoin trading?
As China increased its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency sector, a sort of grey market was created. Chinese exchanges such Huobi and OKEx moved offshore since they were not able to be licensed on the mainland. Some of these platforms offer crypto-to-crypto trading such as buying bitcoin with the U.S. dollar-linked stablecoin called tether (USDT). Some platforms offer a renminbi to USDT conversion service which allows Chinese users to get the crypto required to buy bitcoin.
Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions
| # | Crypto | Prediction | Accuracy | CVIX | Price | 24h | 7d | Market Cap | 7d price change | |
| 1 |  BTC |
Bitcoin predictions | 66.8% | 74 | $60 032.76 | -2.11% | -1.50% | $1 131 802 049 382 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 71.2% | 59 | $3 989.05 | -3.01% | 4.71% | $470 948 938 919 |  |
|
| 3 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 68.8% | 62 | $469.93 | -2.46% | 0.52% | $78 385 216 501 |  |
|
| 4 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 92% | 1 | $1.000447 | 0.02% | 0.09% | $69 605 178 895 |  |
|
| 5 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 89.2% | 13 | $2.10 | -2.38% | -2.74% | $69 174 273 027 |  |
|
| 6 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 70.8% | 56 | $187.59 | -3.86% | 17.09% | $56 455 905 240 |  |
|
| 7 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 76.8% | 49 | $1.063738 | -2.10% | -5.03% | $49 938 635 685 |  |
|
| 8 |  DOT |
Polkadot predictions | 59.2% | 82 | $41.55 | -4.26% | -0.40% | $41 029 792 344 |  |
|
| 9 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 69.6% | 60 | $0.261327 | 4.69% | 10.43% | $34 450 251 548 |  |
|
| 10 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 92.4% | 1 | $1.000452 | 0.01% | 0.09% | $32 589 972 835 |  |
|
| 11 |  LUNA |
Terra predictions | 67.6% | 61 | $40.06 | -6.21% | 7.93% | $16 078 547 993 |  |
|
| 12 |  UNI |
UniSwap predictions | 77.6% | 42 | $25.49 | -4.26% | -3.47% | $15 592 349 712 |  |
|
| 13 |  SHIB |
SHIBA INU predictions | 58.8% | 92 | $0.000038 | 12.93% | 47.19% | $14 846 178 540 |  |
|
| 14 |  AVAX |
Avalanche predictions | 71.2% | 61 | $62.43 | -4.16% | 10.20% | $13 751 801 922 |  |
|
| 15 |  LINK |
Chainlink predictions | 72.4% | 50 | $29.06 | -5.36% | 8.54% | $13 396 474 820 |  |
