It may be 2-3 years before bitcoin regulation in China, says the chief executive of digital currency exchange BTCC China Bobby Lee. His estimations were announced following the meetings between the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) – China’s central bank – and the major bitcoin exchanges in the country.
According to Reuters, Bobby Lee revealed that in contrary to the reports, PBOC did not cause pressure to curb the exit Chinese capital through bitcoin.
“No. Not as of yet… Nothing verbal or written to us,” Lee told the news agency.
Last week, the officials of PBOC met with BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin, China’s big bitcoin exchanges, and reportedly “urged the platform to behave in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.” The central bank also ordered BTCC China to perform “self-examination”. This directive was requested following “abnormal price fluctuations” of bitcoin, when the price had reached record highs followed by a steep drop.
You can buy bitcoin with yuan and then sell it abroad in exchange for foreign currencies. However, Lee pointed out that “to be honest, not many” investors were doing it. The Chinese yuan‘s price of bitcoin carries a premium to the price in other currencies, he noted.
“For that range, you’re not going to be able to do it at a good rate. You’re going to lose 10 percent of your money,” Lee said. “Maybe the individual household might buy 20,000 more dollars worth of bitcoin than their $50,000 (forex) quota, but that’s a drop in the bucket.”
The next step is for PBOC to discuss new or planned rules involving bitcoin. Bobby Lee estimates “it will be two to three years before China regulates bitcoin.”
