Share this article
Beijing Summit: What if They Had a Bitcoin Ban and No One Cared?
By attendance alone, Beijing's first major bitcoin conference is a raging success despite fears of increasing regulatory pressure.
Updated Feb 21, 2023, 3:36 p.m. Published May 11, 2014, 9:33 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
If the recent issues surrounding bank account closures and domestic media warnings were supposed to scare Chinese attendees away from the two-day Global Bitcoin Summit starting in Beijing Saturday, someone forgot to tell everyone.
The main 400-seat auditorium was regularly full on the first day for the event's keynote speakers, which included Roger Ver, Aaron Koenig of the Global Bitcoin Alliance, and Wang Wei of the Chinese Museum of Finance.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The overall tone was not so much defiance, but apathy towards greater regulation.
While Bobby Lee of BTC China was noticeably absent from the day's lineup, attendees remained focused on the future and dedicated to the cause.
Both the size and mood of the crowd confirmed what several of CoinDesk's local Chinese sources have been saying for a while: the community at large is tired of hearing about banks vs. exchanges, and wants to keep building.
How exactly they plan to do this without fiat gateways will be a discussion point tomorrow and in the coming months.
China is big, in every sense
The huge China National Convention Center, located just across the road from Beijing's 2008 Olympic main stadium, also highlighted just how niche bitcoin still remains in the overall Chinese economy, which is still booming.
The bitcoin summit itself took up a relatively small space at the back of the second floor. Attendees passed massive franchising and marketing conventions, each with their own collection of booths and babes, before even seeing a bitcoin logo.
Regulation not an issue
Regulatory issues were barely touched upon, if mentioned at all, during Roger Ver's keynote. Stressing once again the utterly voluntary nature of the bitcoin economy, he told the audience his mission was now more that of a promoter of bitcoin's cause around the world.
"I'm pretty much done investing in bitcoin startups. But if you know some good ones I'm always very happy to introduce you to the right people," he said, when asked if he intended to invest further in Chinese companies.
On the topic of which companies he predicted would succeed in future, Ver said "it's still too early to tell" – comparing the landscape to search engines in the late 1990s, when it was still unclear whether Lycos, Yahoo or Altavista would dominate in future years. He continued:
"But somebody's going to work it out. Somebody's going to do it right."
Chinese companies were continuing to do well, he added, "I'm often more impressed with Chinese bitcoin exchanges than I am with some of the US and European exchanges."
Harry Zhou, an Associate with White & Case LLP, gave another presentation on regulation-specific issues, but chose to speak generally instead of referring to current events directly.
Comparing the legal situation in China to that in the US, he drew key differences between each country's definition of 'legal tender', as well as the US's federal system and competing state jurisdictions.
In China, he said, the renminbi is the only legal tender and that is sacrosanct – even precious metals are not allowed. In the US, however, alternative local barter systems and gold and silver are tolerated even though the US dollar remained the only official legal tender.
Other features
Other international guests on the day's speaking agenda were Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin and Anthony di Iorio from the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada.
While some booths marked with exchange names (like CHBTC) were empty, other local startups filled the spaces. We saw secure wallet Bifubao, mining equipment maker Gridseed Technology Ltd, and even a couple of OKCoin-branded ATMs.
Representing the alt universe was Zetacoin, promoting its Swiss-built payment infrastructure designed for countries like Kenya.
Beijing's Global Bitcoin Summit continues Sunday.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
How a 'perpetual’ stock trick could solve Michael Saylor’s $8 billion debt problem
The bitcoin treasury firm is using perpetual preferreds to retire convertibles, offering a potential framework for managing long-dated leverage.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its SATA follow on offering beyond $150 million, pricing the perpetual preferred at $90.
- The structure offers a blueprint for replacing fixed maturity convertibles with perpetual equity capital that removes refinancing risk.
- Strategy has a $3 billion convertible tranche due in June 2028 with a $672.40 conversion price, which could be addressed using a similar preferred equity approach.
Top Stories
