Rumors about lifting the ban on crypto assets in China: comments from Mike Novogratz and other experts

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, commented on these rumors, emphasizing that this is not the first time he has heard such conversations. On his social media page X (formerly known as Twitter), he expressed skepticism, saying:

“If this is true, and this is the second time I have heard this in recent weeks, this is a very important decision. Can someone reveal the details?"

This comment by Novogratz was prompted by the publication of BitcoinLFG, which first disseminated this information, but did not provide concrete evidence.

Jack Lee, founder and managing partner of HCM Capital, also responded to Novogratz’s publication, emphasizing that he does not yet see any reason to soften China’s policy regarding crypto assets. He explained his point of view as follows:

“Since the Politburo previously received false information (from the PBoC [People's Bank of China]) that led to a mining ban about three years ago, the authorities decided to use Hong Kong as a pilot market for testing (to learn more about crypto assets in general and Bitcoin in particular) , which suits their political strategy. There must be reasons for opening the market on the mainland now. I don’t see them yet.”

China began tightening its policies regarding crypto assets back in 2013, when financial institutions were prohibited from conducting Bitcoin transactions. More stringent measures followed in 2017, including a ban on ICOs and the closure of domestic crypto exchanges. In 2021, China banned cryptocurrency mining, causing significant changes in the global market.

Despite these bans, China remains one of the leaders in the adoption of crypto assets and the share of the global hashrate of the Bitcoin network. For example, the CEO of CryptoQuant, Ki Young Ju, previously stated that Chinese mining pools control 54% of the total global Bitcoin hashrate.

Rumors about the lifting of the ban on crypto assets are causing a lot of speculation and discussion in the cryptocurrency community. If China does decide to soften its policies, it could have significant implications for the global crypto market. However, so far there is no concrete confirmation of these rumors, and experts continue to express their doubts.

Time will tell whether China's policy towards crypto assets will change and how this will affect the market. In any case, such events indicate the high volatility and unpredictability of the crypto industry, which continues to attract the attention of investors and analysts around the world.