Experts are debating rumors that China might unban Bitcoin by 2024, with many expressing skepticism despite recent social media buzz.

China's Decades-Long Ban on Bitcoin

In spite of recent social media stories implying that China may relax its decades-long ban on Bitcoin, many in the cryptocurrency world continue to view this as highly unlikely.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, said on X on July 14 that he has heard rumors that China is "likely to unban" Bitcoin by the end of 2024.

As Novogratz put it on X:

Industry Leaders' Skepticism

The majority of the responses on Novogratz's X thread have cast doubt on the reliability of the data. The possibility of a U-turn on Bitcoin by China was a source of doubt for many posters. Additionally, other commentators claimed that Bitcoin has never been outright banned in China.

Nothing has changed despite their repeated bans on it. Something similar will occur if they "un-ban" it again and again, as pointed out by one commenter.

China's Historical Attempts to Ban Bitcoin

The commentator brought up the several attempts by mainland China to ban Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency-related activities, such as an interdepartmental crackdown in 2021 and a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017.

China is still the world leader in cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin mining, even though they have implemented stringent regulations.

Reportedly asking the Chinese government to embrace crypto in the face of geopolitical threats, Wang Yang, a professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, questioned the rationale of China's prohibition on crypto mining at the end of June, SCMP shares.

The expert said that it was "very unwise" to outlaw cryptocurrency mining in China altogether because it would have sent linked companies to the US, where they could pay taxes.

Several prominent players in the business have stated their firm belief that Bitcoin trading using Chinese yuan would never be legal in China.

Impact of a Potential Unban

Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, a prominent Chinese blockchain company, warned that "unban Bitcoin" would mean that Chinese nationals may use their yuan to purchase Bitcoin from within the country. He emphasized that this would never happen.

He informed Cointelegraph that whoever makes this claim is completely ignorant of the reasons China has banned Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Trading Strategy's co-founder Mikko Ohtamaa agreed with He that a change of heart from the Chinese government toward Bitcoin would be counter to their political goals.

“It is unlikely the rumors China is opening for crypto are true, as this would be against Xi's agenda on how the Chinese state is built."