The National Development and Reform Commission is asking the Chinese public for their opinion on the Bitcoin mining ban. Is China’s government playing 4D chess or are they confused and considering backtracking their decision? Can they unring this particular bell or is this a too little too late scenario? Do they really care about what the general public thinks or is this survey just for the optics?

As it usually happens with the Chinese government’s actions, they leave more questions than answers. Nevertheless, let’s unpack the information available and see what Twitter thinks about the situation.

First of all, the official announcement says:

“In accordance with the relevant work arrangements for the rectification of virtual currency “mining” activities, the National Development and Reform Commission and relevant departments have revised the “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog (2019 Edition)”, and now solicit opinions from the public.”

So, they’re considering “rectification of virtual currency “mining” activities,” by which they mean the Bitcoin mining ban. And by “the public,” they mean “Relevant units and people from all walks of life can provide feedback.”

BTC price chart for 10/25/2021 on FTX | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Is China Actually Considering Lifting The Bitcoin Mining Ban?

Opinions differ. However, according to Three Arrows Capital’s Su Zhu, that’s exactly what’s happening.

China seeking public solicitation of comments regarding un-banning crypto mining https://t.co/g1wyUdORTt pic.twitter.com/qyRQyTBgcn

— Zhu Su (@zhusu) October 25, 2021

People in the replies are not convinced. They theorize that the Chinese government is just trying to create a database of people in favor of Bitcoin mining, or that they are just thinking about lifting the Bitcoin mining ban so they can ban it again on the next cycle. Others doubt the miners will return or that new mining operations will pop up. A few, though, think that the Chinese government realized they made a trillion-dollar mistake.

Chinese journalist Colin Wu, however, sees the news from another angle. “It is not un-banning. On the contrary, its content is to write crypto mining into an industry that must be eliminated.”

Of course, many miners are making comments, but in terms of the current Chinese government’s strong opposition to Bitcoin mining, these comments are likely to be meaningless.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 25, 2021

And he links to a .pdf that says the same thing as the original document, but in a different tone altogether:

“In the “Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue (2019 Edition)”, the elimination category “I. Item 7 is added to “Outdated production technology and equipment” and “(18) Others”, and the content is “virtual quasi-currency’mining’ activity.”

The phrases “Outdated production technology” and “Virtual quasi-currency’mining‘” hit different and tell another story about the Bitcoin mining ban. Wu finishes by saying that “in terms of the current Chinese government’s strong opposition to Bitcoin mining, these comments are likely to be meaningless.”

Conclusions And Speculation

Tick-tock next block. China’s Bitcoin mining ban was a blip on the radar. The network kept running as usual and, a few months later, Bitcoin’s hashrate recovered. We at NewsBTC have been trying to figure out the logic behind the Chinese government’s moves regarding Bitcoin. Unsuccessfully. We looked into the new “China Model” and the small hydropower stations question, wondered about the waning of their hashrate dominance, and looked closely into the now-defunct industry.

Even though it seems like a logical theory, we don’t know if the Chinese government is just clearing out the competition for their future CBDC. We are not sure if this whole operation is part of a bigger one that is trying to control all of the Chinese billionaires. Or if they’re just asserting their dominance and showing everyone who’s the boss. We just know that the Bitcoin mining ban might be the biggest mistake of the century. And we’re not even talking about the trillions in fiat currency that the country is losing. 

The Chinese are banning themselves from participation in the winning open network, from interaction with the biggest idea of the century, from owning a piece of the pristine asset that will change the world for the best.

Did they realize all of this and are gearing up for a change of mind?

Featured Image by Andreas Breitling from Pixabay - Charts by TradingView

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Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) sure knows how to keep its head above water. The meme crypto has seen nearly all there is to see regarding volatility, and it floats on without fail when it encounters a rough patch. Through the summer, developers have looked into ways to bulk up the ecosystem, mostly through upgrades. Today, one of the Dogecoin cofounders is speaking up about his new big idea for the network. His tweets are stirring up chatter around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) coming to Dogecoin.

Billy Markus, one of the two great minds behind the biggest meme in digital currency, took to Twitter earlier in the week to voice his ideal future for the Dogecoin network. Much of the discussion is around non-fungible tokens and how Dogecoin can be integrated for them. Here’s everything you need to know.

Billy Markus Speaks on NFTs Coming to Dogecoin

• Billy Markus is the biggest spokesman for the crypto from a technical perspective; he founded Dogecoin in 2013 with Jackson Palmer. Palmer stepped back from the crypto years later and has no association with crypto in any nature nowadays.
• Markus is very tuned into the desires of Dogecoin users, interacting with them frequently on his Twitter account and providing development updates frequently.
• He also often talks about his ideas for growing the chain, including this week’s NFT discussion.
• Markus tweeted his newest ideas for growing the chain on Wednesday, providing two big proposals.
• One of these proposals is in bridging the Dogecoin ecosystem to Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD), one of the largest blockchain networks in the world.
• Dogecoin data wouldn’t just be easily moveable to the Ethereum chain with this upgrade; it would also allow for the creation of a DOGE-ETH token pairing.
• This brings us to the gossip about NFTs coming to Dogecoin; Markus argues that with a DOGE-ETH token on NFT markets like OpenSea, Dogecoin’s utility would be massively increased.
• Much critique around Dogecoin is in its lack of a concrete utility, and the proposal definitely would silence much of the criticism.
• Markus is historically bullish on NFTs. Just earlier last week, Markus hosted a number of Dogecoin-themed NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

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