The case for Bitcoin strengthens as Chinese bank depositors rebel against frozen accounts
Social media footage shows crowds of angry people in Zhengzhou, the largest city in Henan province, protesting against the freezing of accounts of some rural banks. Local media reported that the deposits held by affected banks could be worth up to $ 1.5 billion.
Some observers point out that self-sharing of assets takes control of banks. For example, to comment on video recordings of the protests, one Twitter user wrote, “Several future Bitcoiners will be orange peeled.”
Reuters reported that the banks involved are being investigated for “illegal fundraising”. But bigger, more macro problems also come into play.
Chinese banking system shows signs of collapse
Rumors of a Chinese bank collapse have been circulating since at least before April 18, when Henan-based Yu Zhou Xin Min Sheng Village Bank, Shanghai Huimin Country Bank and Zhecheng Huanghuai Community Bank froze deposits citing system updates.
Since then, there has been no update on the situation, which makes depositors frustrated and fears the worst – that their money has disappeared.
Things came to a sharp Sunday when about 1,000 met outside the central bank’s Zhengzhou offices and demanded action.
The scenes show protesters waving banners and throwing water bottles, while private security personnel are harsh with some protesters.
Amid the global downturn and quantitative easing by central banks around the world, Nikkei Asia reported that the Chinese government is preparing a “financial stability guarantee fund” to support the country’s ailing financial sector.
“The new financial stability guarantee fund is expected to provide a backdrop for large institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and leasing companies, in the event of an impending collapse.”
At the time of reporting, the fund had raised 64.6 billion yuan ($ 9.7 billion) from more prominent, more solvent Chinese banks. But Beijing hopes to bring that number to $ 100 billion by September.
Self-storage Bitcoin can not be frozen
Bitcoin advocates say that self-preservation of BTC circumvents such a situation that arises in the first place.
Comments on the protests, Twitter account Deterministic optimism points out, “Bitcoin can not be frozen.” Adds that while critics are panning BTC for its wild price fluctuations, this is preferable to not having assets from confiscation.
#Bitcoin can not be frozen.
Having a “volatile” asset is better than having no assets. https://t.co/oCPuSgUBYk
– DETERMINIST OPTIMISM 🌞 (@nvk) July 10, 2022
However, it remains to be seen if Bitcoin can survive the pop of “Everything Bubble”.
