High-Ranking Chinese Government Official Acknowledges Bitcoin’s Potential

December 15, 2024 by
High-Ranking Chinese Government Official Acknowledges Bitcoin’s Potential

Image credit: Patrick Denker

The use of bitcoin as an accepted form of payment in the Asian market has reached a new milestone.

Wu Xiaoling, former deputy director of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), highlighted the potential of digital currencies during the Sanya International Finance Forum. Her speech addressed China’s openness toward digital payments and how new systems are changing traditional banking.

Wu said, “While information technology will have a hard time changing money creation, it will have an easier time impacting the implementation of certain payment functions.”

Wu did not directly refer to bitcoin during the panel discussion. Instead, she used general phrases such as “virtual money,” and “algorithmic money,” when making references to the digital currency. Several big names in the cryptocurrency space attended the event including Leon Lim, Huobi CEO.

The Bitcoin community took Wu’s acknowledgement as a sign of greater things to come. The former DP of PBOC is currently one of the highest-ranking government officials to praise the digital currency. Wu’s statements are influential to China’s financial sector and may help solidify Bitcoin’s reputation among businesses, merchants and traders.

Wu’s speech titled, “From an information network to a financial network – How the finance industry can make use of information technology” goes against the PBOC’s firm views on Bitcoin and Litecoin exchanges. The Chinese central bank’s restrictions against digital currency policies have crippled the growth of the new industry, causing tensions between third party processors and local financial institutions.

“Private digital money can coexist with government money. […] Coexistence of private money and government money will be a normal part of our world,” Wu mentioned boldly during the event.

In addition to her active role in the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Wu extends her presence as the dean of the Tsinghua University Wudaokou Finance College.

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