What happened to China’s only bitcoin ATM after its crackdown on crypto (2024)

FAQs

What happened to China’s only bitcoin ATM after its crackdown on crypto? ›

Now, the physical machine is out of operation, after crypto trading has been shut down in China.

China “unlikely” to have any motivation to open to crypto

“If you refer to 'unban Bitcoin' as China would allow Chinese citizens to buy Bitcoin with China's renminbi from inside China, it is not going to happen, period,” said Yifan He, CEO of major Chinese blockchain firm Red Date Technology.

Unfortunately, there is no bitcoin ATM we know of in China.

In 2013, China restricted financial and payment institutions' involvement with Bitcoin. In 2017 China famously banned initial coin offerings, or ICOs. China also made clear that virtual currency exchanges were no longer welcome to openly operate there.

China is officially one of the world's toughest jurisdictions for cryptocurrencies. Beijing banned crypto trading in 2021, and authorities have since detained, fined and jailed people working in the sector.

Of course, the Chinese government banned cryptocurrency to prevent money laundering, but the true nature of the regulation lies in the government's efforts to maintain the current financial system. People looking at computer screens showing financial data at a Shanghai open-air investment bazaar.

Crypto trading and mining has been banned in China since 2021. Run used bank cards issued by small rural commercial banks to buy cryptocurrencies through grey-market dealers, and capped each transaction at 50,000 yuan ($6,978) to escape scrutiny.

Following the mining ban in China last year, the country has seen a sudden surge in activity through “covert mining operations” and has “re-emerged as a major mining hub” grabbing 21.11% of global hashrate, according to the CCAF.

Coinbase Global, Inc., branded Coinbase, is an American publicly traded company that operates a cryptocurrency exchange platform.

The digital RMB is legal tender and has equivalent value with other forms of renminbi, also known as the Chinese yuan (CNY), such as bills and coins.

Who owns the most Bitcoin? ›

So, who are the top holders of BTC? According to the Bitcoin research and analysis firm River Intelligence, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator behind Bitcoin, is listed as the top BTC holder as of 2024. The company notes that Satoshi Nakamoto holds about 1.1m BTC tokens in about 22,000 different addresses.

Note that if we were to rank countries based on their actual number of crypto owners, India would rank first at 93 million people, China would rank second at 59 million people, and the U.S. would rank third at 52 million people.

Cryptocurrencies are currently not allowed for payments inside Russia, and the new law is unlikely to change that. Earlier, the central bank admitted that payment problems were one of the key challenges for the Russian economy.

Francis Shin. The People's Bank of China argues that its ban on cryptocurrencies is to curtail financial crime and prevent economic instability. However, China's cryptocurrency ban comes amid fears that cryptocurrencies were facilitating capital flight from its markets, bypassing conventional restrictions.

Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, and China have all banned cryptocurrency.

Governments Holding the Most Bitcoin

Governments across the world own an estimated 565,993 BTC, representing 2.70% of the total supply. The Chinese government reportedly holds 190,000 BTC that was recovered from the Plustoken scam in 2019. Members of the Ukrainian government privately hold roughly 46,351 BTC.

Key Takeaways: Crypto Bans

Countries that ban cryptocurrency outright are few and far between; we only found eight that fit the bill. Many more countries, however, do have restrictions of some kind on crypto, so you may want to double-check what your country's rules are regarding digital assets.