Sovereign Powers Could Be Key to Mass Crypto Adoption

China's statist approach, in particular, may prove to be a catalyst to the still elusive "Mass adoption of crypto."

The People's Bank of China announced plans for a national sovereign digital currency, the DCEP. Industry observers and PBoC's development team expect it to launch in 2020.

President Xi Jinping's comments regarding China's desire to lead in blockchain technology were almost certainly strategically timed on the back of the Facebook hearings.

More than two thirds of bitcoin mining happens in China and exchange volume is dominated by Chinese markets.

Most importantly, more consumer-facing Web3 apps are coming out of China than any other market globally.

After years of waiting patiently in vein for "Mass adoption of crypto," I think we should be open-minded here.

The Chinese market also drove much of the bitcoin and ethereum market rebound in the first half of the year as Chinese investors sought to diversify their personal stores of value amid their nation's trade war with the US. Enormous scams like the multi-billion dollar Plus Token embezzlement caused regional governments to take a stronger stance on exchanges, driving down prices and showing China's influence on crypto markets.

Chinese officials are in the "Blockchain not bitcoin/tokens" camp, but recognize crypto's market popularity.

Chinese consumers have a certain affinity for foreign crypto projects, possibly due to perceptions around security, privacy and technical prowess.

Crypto may be remembered as one of the first industries that China takes the position of technical innovator rather than fast-follower, sitting at the vanguard of development in Web3 technologies.