China Flocks to Prohibited Bitcoin in Response to Stock Market Setbacks

In the early months of 2023, Dylan Run, a financial professional based in Shanghai, began diversifying some of his wealth into the realm of digital currencies amidst a downturn in the Chinese economy and a bearish stock market environment.

Despite the prohibition on cryptocurrency trading and mining in China since 2021, Run engaged in the purchase of cryptocurrencies by utilizing banking cards from smaller regional commercial banks, conducting business with underground market operatives. He deliberately kept his transactions under the threshold of 50,000 yuan ($6,978) to avoid attracting attention.

“Bitcoin serves as a refuge in uncertain times, akin to the role of gold,” Run asserts.