Bitcoin hailed as ‘success' by China in dramatic shift in attitude
A state-run newspaper in China has published a front-page story hailing bitcoin as the first successful application of blockchain technology.
The praise marks a significant shift in Beijing's stance towards the cryptocurrency and comes as the country prepares to launch its own digital currency.
Monday's edition of Xinhua went into detail about how bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology works, describing it as "one of the hottest topics in recent years".
China has been slow to acknowledge the potential benefits of cryptocurrency compared to other countries and has typically taken a hardline attitude towards the industry.
Study: Chinese Blockchain Spending to Exceed $2B by 2023
China’s spending on blockchain technology will exceed $2 billion in 2023, official state-run publication Xinhua reported on Nov. 10. The report claims that blockchain development in China will see a compound annual growth rate of 65.7% from 2018 to 2023.
China’s banking sector responsible for the bulk of blockchain spending in 2019
Citing a study by American market intelligence firm IDC published on Nov. 7, the report says that the bulk of China’s blockchain spending was geared to the banking sector in 2019. Other high-spending industries reportedly included manufacturing, retail, professional services and process manufacturing.
BitGo Says It’s Now Processing 20% of Bitcoin Transactions
BitGo is processing more than 20 percent of bitcoin transactions, the company said at CoinDesk’s Invest: NYC conference today.
The announcement by the crypto custodian and issuer of hot and cold storage wallets means that a sizable share of on-chain transactions pass through its services, a sign of consolidation, and power, in the crypto space.
It also raises questions about market collapse: If BitGo goes down, would those assets be at risk? But when asked that question directly, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, on stage at “The Shape of Things to Come: Crypto Custody in a Proof-of-Stake World” panel, said there was nothing to fear.
“The big thing we do is try to remove single points of failure,” Belshe said. BitGo’s multi-signature key system secures assets, even if one layer gets breached – the clients hold the keys, he said.
Belshe credited BitGo’s growth to customers’ value of their multi-sig security.
