Bitcoin returned to $30000, and Tiktok Weibo "made contributions"?

[Article/Observer: Xige, editor/Zhang Guangkai]On April 11th, the price of Bitcoin broke through the $30000 mark, and the virtual currency market showed a resurgence trend, with a cumulative increase of over 80% since the beginning of this year. Just the night before, the Tiktok APP started to display the information about the price of Bitcoin in the currency circle

[Article/Observer: Xige, editor/Zhang Guangkai]

On April 11th, the price of Bitcoin broke through the $30000 mark, and the virtual currency market showed a resurgence trend, with a cumulative increase of over 80% since the beginning of this year. Just the night before, the Tiktok APP started to display the information about the price of Bitcoin in the currency circle. In addition, today's headlines and Weibo search for Bitcoin can also check the price of Bitcoin.

Some virtual currency investors see it as a signal of a easing of domestic attitudes towards virtual currencies.

However, in fact, China's regulatory policies on virtual currencies have always been clear. On September 15, 2021, ten departments including the People's Bank of China issued a notice on further preventing and disposing of speculative risks in virtual currency transactions, emphasizing that virtual currency related business activities are illegal financial activities and explicitly prohibiting the provision of information intermediaries and pricing services for virtual currency transactions.

Tiktok Weibo shows the price, and Bitcoin returns to $30000

According to CoinMarketCap, a virtual currency data website, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) returned to the $30000 mark on April 11th. As of the press release of $30126, it rose 6.7% in 24 hours and has accumulated a rise of over 80% since the beginning of this year.

Yesterday evening, Sun Yuchen, who was recently accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of illegal sales of securities, fraud and market manipulation, said on his personal social media account that Tiktok began to show the price of Bitcoin, and then the news flashed across the currency circle.

Sun Yuchen's social media screenshot

After searching in Tiktok APP, the quotations of some mainstream virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple Coin can be displayed, and even the platform currency (BNB) launched by Binance, the world's largest virtual currency exchange, can be priced in RMB. Tiktok shows that the data source is Golden Finance, which is a blockchain vertical information platform. At the same time, Observer Network found in today's Toutiao APP that the platform can also achieve the query of Bitcoin prices.

Screenshot of Tiktok APP

Screenshot of Today's Headline APP

Earlier today, the term "Bitcoin" also made it to the hot search list on Weibo. At the same time, after searching for Bitcoin on Weibo, real-time prices of Bitcoin can also be viewed.

Judging from the reaction of the currency circle last night, Tiktok shows the price of Bitcoin, which brings some optimism to the market. A virtual currency investor told Observer Network that Bitcoin broke through the $30000 mark today, and this optimistic sentiment played a role.

Another practitioner introduced that Tiktok had been strict in the management of content related to virtual currency. "The previous account released video only 15 seconds long, almost nothing was said, only introduced that he was an employee of xx blockchain company, and that account was permanently banned after the video was released."

However, as platforms such as Tiktok, Today's Headlines and Weibo began to display the real-time price of Bitcoin, some virtual currency investors believed that they saw a signal that the domestic attitude towards virtual currency was easing.

It is worth noting that China's regulatory policy on virtual currencies is clear.

On September 15, 2021, the People's Bank of China and ten other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading and Speculation", which once again emphasized that virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal tender.

In addition, the Notice also explicitly states that virtual currency related business activities are illegal financial activities, such as conducting legal tender and virtual currency exchange business, exchanging virtual currencies between virtual currencies, buying and selling virtual currencies as central counterparties, providing information intermediaries and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and virtual currency derivative transactions, which are suspected of illegal issuance of token coupons Unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of futures business, illegal fundraising and other illegal financial activities are strictly prohibited and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. For those who engage in illegal financial activities that constitute crimes, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the law.

In fact, there is a precedent for domestic applications to launch virtual currency market display functions. In May 2018, a stock app launched a real-time quotation function for some mainstream currencies such as Bitcoin on its Apple mobile app. At that time, the coin industry had just experienced a bull market that had risen 50 times in a year. However, this feature was taken offline the same month it was launched.

Observers found that, compared with last night, there was one more tip above the bitcoin market displayed in Tiktok APP this afternoon: according to relevant national regulations, unofficial virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal currency, so please invest cautiously.

Screenshot of Tiktok APP

As of press release, Tiktok and Weibo have offline the bitcoin market display function. Tiktok only retains the above tips, but today, after the headline search, you can still view the real-time price of the special offer.

Why Bitcoin, Abandoned, Rises Up

The recent banking crisis in the United States has to some extent pushed up the price of Bitcoin. David Tawil, President of Virtual Fund ProChain Capital, said that with the outbreak of the banking crisis, the main feature of Bitcoin has shifted from speculative to secure, more like gold. Some investors may have started to view it as a safe haven asset for banking turmoil and recession.

In addition, the recent rebound may also be related to the low liquidity of the virtual currency market. Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital, two regional banks in the United States, are considered very friendly to virtual currency companies. After the collapse of both banks, Bitcoin liquidity reached a nearly 10 month low. The sluggish trading activity also makes price fluctuations more apparent.

At the beginning of Bitcoin's birth, it was endowed with a decentralized and trustless "virtual currency spirit" by virtual currency enthusiasts, and is considered a mechanism that can undertake value exchange and storage.

But over a decade later, the original vision of 'currency' was far from being realized, and Bitcoin's market has instead become a 'indicator' for observing market fluctuations. For the most part, it is always influenced by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, and the price of Bitcoin often fluctuates before and after the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting.

In addition to the impact of several currency boom events, the Federal Reserve has repeatedly raised interest rates since 2022, and the virtual currency market has also declined with the Fed's rate hikes. Bitcoin has dropped from a historical high of $69000 to around $15000, and although the price of Bitcoin has doubled since breaking through the low point of $30000 today, the gap is still significant compared to historical highs.

Since 2023, Bitcoin has risen by over 80% and nearly 50% in the past month. However, many virtual currency investors are particularly concerned about the upcoming CPI (Consumer Price Index) and PPI (Producer Price Index) releases in the United States, as these determine whether the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates in the future, which in turn determines whether the virtual currency's rise is sustainable.

In the optimistic mood of Bitcoin, which was about to "revolutionize the central bank", investors had to look at the face of the Federal Reserve to act.

This article is an exclusive manuscript from Observer Network and cannot be reproduced without authorization.