Re:China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close
by cs702 on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @12:36PM
(#15286180)
As sboselli points out below (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15285900), money doesn't even need to leave the country. Just the fact alone that a Chinese citizen is buying foreign currency or Bitcoin in a black market constitutes a form of capital flight.
Re:China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close
by contingencies on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @06:45PM
(#15289441)
This matches what I see on the ground in Shenzhen and in HK banks. Even the latter are getting squeezed about mainland capital inflow now. There are still mechanisms through international corporate relationships and licensed investment channels to exfiltrate large sums. The regulator in question is the 外汇管理局 or "foreign exchange management bureau". Smiles from Zurich.
Re:China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close
by Nursie on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @12:56PM
(#15286383)
> foreign real estate
There's been something of a crackdown on this in the last few months too, AFAICT
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/08/18/china-crack-f...
Re:China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close
by baybal2 on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @02:48PM
(#15287637)
When I worked in Shanghai this year, I noticed that a business openly advertising "large sum transfers" was located literally one door away from city's procurator office.
Re:China orders Bitcoin exchanges in capital city to close
by Fnoord on Tuesday September 19, 2017 @07:48PM
(#15289687)
Could've been a honeypot.
This is where the "Chinese people use Bitcoin to exfil capital" story falls apart. It's near impossible to open a foreign bank account and pass KYC from within China as a Chinese citizen.
You have to travel to Macau or Hong Kong - and if you're doing that you may as well use the cheaper and more efficient underground laundering and exchange networks.
The most well known ways of exfiltrating capital out of China - foreign real estate[0], casino junkets[1] and foreign acquisitions[2] - have been cracked down on in the past 12 months.
I think Bitcoin pales in comparison to these sources and is a minor irritant, and it was more likely Bitcoin is now being more heavily regulated because of the ICO boom and associated scams in China.
[0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellensheng/2017/07/31/chinese-o...
[1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-13/crown-employees-detain...
[2] http://www.afr.com/news/world/chinas-strict-capital-controls...