China’s ex finance minister says crypto is ‘crucial’ to economy
Zhu Guangyao, previously China’s minister of finance, has said the country needs to be paying more attention to cryptocurrency. He gave a speech during an economic forum at Tsinghua University over the weekend (Sept. 28).
“It does have negative effects, and we must fully recognize its risks and harm to the capital market,” he said according to Sina News.
“But we must study the latest international changes and policy adjustments because it is a crucial aspect to the development of the digital economy.”
Zhu Guangyao specifically brought up US presidential candidate Donald Trump in relation to crypto’s importance.
What did Trump say about China’s crypto?
Back at the Bitcoin conference in July, pro-crypto Trump said: ” If we don’t embrace crypto and Bitcoin technology, China will, other countries will.
“They’ll dominate, and we cannot let China dominate. They are making too much progress as it is.”
Cryptocurrency is already a divisive issue in this year’s US election. It was revealed that Trump owns at least $1 million in crypto, while Democrat Kamala Harris finally broke her silence on the issue.
“We will partner together to invest in America’s competitiveness, to invest in America’s future,” she said. “We will encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors.”
A poll now suggests that crypto-owning voters favor Trump by 12 points and non-owners prefer Harris by 12 points.
As well as Trump’s vocal support, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the beginning of the year.
Hong Kong however, has a devolved government and is more welcoming. It approved six Bitcoin and Ethereum EFTs in May and has been working on regulations as the industry develops.
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