There are rumors about the fact that the Chinese government may be planning to ban crypto-currency exchanges from trading.

Yes, despite the ban on ICO, the Chinese government is suspected to want to ban all crypto-currencies including Bitcoin, Etherem and Steem!

While we do not believe that will happen as we explained in a former post, it is worth discussing to detail the consequences of such an action - should it happen.

Can crypto-currencies be banned?

NO. Why?

1. Crypto-currencies are voluntary currencies and as along as there is someone willing to use them, they will continue to exist
2. China does not "own" or "rule" over the crypto-currency industry. China could only make crypto-currencies illegal within its borders
3. Legal or not, Chinese people will still use crypto-currencies

Why do governments want to ban crypto-currencies?

Governments give several reasons including;

• they threaten the monetary monopoly of central banks
• they serve as channels for criminals to launder money
• they are filled with scams since the industry is not regulated
• they facilitate financial transfers for terrorists
• blah, blah, blah...

What happens when anyone tries to ban cryptocurrencies?

Mostly, it is governments who will try to ban cryptocurrency, however these are the consequences;

1. the movement moves underground and become even more entreanched
2. it becomes more valuable due to the high demand but limited availability - just like drugs
3. the economy looses billions and trillions of dollars which could have come in from ICOs
4. after years of failing to suppress it, the administration which suppress it is overthrown by political rivals

What could China/governments do?

Instead of fighting the Blockchain or cryptocurrency market, @BlockRush believes that governments should rather befriend them.

Blockchain technology was built for anarchism so attempting to fight it will only be like putting it to use. There is a saying:

if you can't beat them, join them

Over 100 of the world's top banks including;

• the World's Bank,
• the formidable Bank of England,
• People's Central Bank of China,
• Bank of Canada,
• Goldman Sachs, Santander,
• Morgan Stanley,
• the mighty Barclays,
• BBVA,
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia,
• Credit Suisse,
• Goldman Sachs,
• J.P. Morgan,
• Royal Bank of Scotland,
• State Street,
• UBS,
• Bank of America,
• BNY Mellon,
• Citi,
• Commerzbank,
• Deutsche Bank,
• HSBC,
• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group,
• Morgan Stanley,
• National Australia Bank,
• Royal Bank of Canada,
• Société Générale,
• Wells Fargo

are using or developing Blockchain/cryptocurrency technologies, so why won't governments jump onboard?

Back to the question, Will China suppress crypto-currencies?

Well, only time will tell. However if they do, then we already know of the potential consequences;

• loss of economic wealth
• political instability
• more entrenched underground activities

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