China’s leader, a fan of centralized power, is suddenly the darling of the crypto community
The global crypto community is suddenly full of nice things to say about Xi Jinping, the Chinese president who almost epitomizes the notion of centralized power.
Last Thursday (Oct. 24), Xi delivered a speech about the importance of blockchain and the need to accelerate the development of the technology in China in a wide range of sectors, during a “study session” for some of the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior members. Xi added that as governments worldwide have stepped up their efforts in developing blockchain, China should follow suit and allow the country to have greater say in forming global standards for the technology, according to a transcript (link in Chinese) published by state news outlet Xinhua.
Xi’s proclamations came despite his government’s ban on cryptocurrencies that have been effect since 2017, out of fears that the speculation of the digital currencies would cause chaos in its financial markets. Blockchain technology has also been used to fight Chinese censorship. Nonetheless, the global crypto community was quick to welcome Xi’s comments. Some, for example, juxtaposed Xi against US President Donald Trump — who is no fan of virtual currencies — saying the US should catch up with China in this regard (though there was no explicit mention of virtual currencies in Xi’s speech). Bitcoin has surged some 30% since the publication of Xi’s speech.
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