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 | 62.4% | 76 | $23 195.66 | -1.29% | -1.50% | $447 262 989 624 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 69.2% | 57 | $1 649.37 | -2.09% | 2.18% | $201 839 732 133 |  |
|
| 3 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 91.2% | 1 | $1.000217 | 0.01% | 0% | $68 079 422 781 |  |
|
| 4 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 79.6% | 38 | $328.36 | -0.90% | 4.32% | $51 848 565 385 |  |
|
| 5 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 93.2% | 1 | $0.999942 | -0.01% | -0.03% | $41 988 565 849 |  |
|
| 6 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 74.8% | 42 | $0.404201 | -2.02% | -1.97% | $20 533 036 252 |  |
|
| 7 |  BUSD |
Binance USD predictions | 91.6% | 1 | $0.999723 | -0.07% | -0.02% | $16 253 765 776 |  |
|
| 8 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 69.2% | 64 | $0.393348 | -2.60% | 1.16% | $13 613 460 494 |  |
|
| 9 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 74.8% | 51 | $0.092617 | -1.65% | 3.10% | $12 287 566 308 |  |
|
| 10 |  MATIC |
Polygon predictions | 68% | 67 | $1.21 | -2.86% | 1.52% | $10 591 629 612 |  |
|
| 11 |  STETH |
Lido stETH predictions | 92.4% | 1 | $2 941.39 | -0.40% | -3.32% | $10 258 752 564 |  |
|
| 12 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 56.8% | 86 | $23.67 | -4.58% | -3.57% | $8 819 921 992 |  |
|
| 13 |  SHIB |
SHIBA INU predictions | 67.6% | 73 | $0.000014 | 1.35% | 19.81% | $7 914 712 336 |  |
|
| 14 |  DOT |
Polkadot predictions | 67.2% | 66 | $6.70 | -4.41% | 1.44% | $7 726 491 964 |  |
|
| 15 |  HEX |
HEX predictions | 70% | 60 | $0.041030 | -11.76% | 52.80% | $7 114 999 412 |  |
