NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The CEO of one of China’s biggest bitcoin companies says Beijing’s decision to crackdown on bitcoin trading in the country lost his businesses tens of millions in revenue.

Founded in 2011, BTCC was the world’s oldest bitcoin exchange until it shuttered its exchange in September last year under pressure from Chinese authorities.

BTCC founder and CEO Bobby Lee told Business Insider: “We always knew it was a risk that the Chinese government would look unfavourably on bitcoin and put some strong rules around it.

“We were always running it with a sense of uncertainty, we were operating in a grey area. Finally last year, 2017, they made a final decision, which was to essentially shut down all exchanges. It was unfortunate but it was in the realm of our worst possibility.”

Photo courtesy of angelx77.