China State Media Make Rare Reports Calling Crypto 2020's Best Performing Asset

Several Chinese state-owned media have made coordinated reports describing cryptocurrencies as the year's top performing investment.

• China Central Television (CCTV), the country's top broadcaster, published a three-minute news clip on Friday that highlighted crypto assets have soared by 70% this year so far.
• The report added that "cryptocurrency has undoubtedly become the top performing investment" among various global assets.
• CCTV's clip followed the state-owned news agency Xinhua, which published an online article Thursday entitled "Cryptocurrency is this year's 'No. 1 asset.'"
• The same article first appeared on the Thursday print version of Cankaoxiaoxi and was a summarized translation of an article from Bloomberg on Tuesday.
• Cankaoxiaoxi is one of the longest running state media that selectively translates news reports from foreign sources, including those that are normally blocked by China's Great Firewall.
• The CCTV clip immediately drew wide attention from the Chinese crypto community.
• Many started sharing the clip on WeChat news feeds as a bullish signal since the unusual neutral-to-positive tone is seemingly at odds with China's stance that crypto speculation could undermine financial stability.
• Such a rare and coordinated effort also sparked some to wonder what the real intention and nuance might be, since state-owned media in China typically carry political agendas.
• Citing Bloomberg's index, CCTV said the yield of crypto asset has this year surpassed that of gold, which has risen only 20%.
• The broadcaster said various countries' economic stimulus plans following the coronavirus pandemic and the recent mania for decentralized finance contributed to the surge of values in cryptocurrencies.
• However, it also cautioned that the risks for retail investors still remain high given crypto assets' volatility.

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