China Merchant Bank Reportedly Invested in Bitcoin Wallet Provider; Crypto Market Excitement Continues

‘China’ is the word in nearly every update about cryptocurrency or blockchain within the past 96 hours, following a perceived endorsement of blockchain technology last week by Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

As that excitement continues to pump the crypto market and, more specifically, the price of Chinese crypto projects, a new development suggests that the trend could last longer. 

According to Dovey Wan, the co-founder of crypto holding company Primitive Ventures, China Merchant Bank has announced they are invested in BitPie, one of the oldest and widely used non-custodial Bitcoin wallet provider in the country. 

China… China Merchant Bank just announced invested in BitPie, the Bitcoin wallet with longest history and most users back in China …

???

Tho it’s a non-custodial wallet there can be a non-zero chance ….[redacted] ???

— Dovey 以德服人 Wan ? ? (@DoveyWan) October 28, 2019

Founded in 1987, China Merchant Bank is reportedly the first share-holding commercial bank wholly owned by corporate legal entities in the country, including China Merchants Group, which holds an 18% stake in the company. 

While the size of the bank’s investment in BitPie is unknown, it is of enormous significance since it could mark the beginning of Chinese nationalization of the cryptocurrency and the Bitcoin industry, according to Dovey Wan. 

Additionally, given China’s initial ban on ICOs and the country’s negative stance that forced several crypto firms to leave the country, especially in 2017, the latest trend appears to suggest that crypto and blockchain companies can now find a home in the country. 

The Crypto Market Massively Reacted to President Xi Jinping’s Endorsement of Blockchain 

Understandably, the positive comments made about blockchain last week by President Xi Jinping and his call for the technology to be adopted across different sectors of the economy contributed to the massive leap in the crypto market within the last few days. 

Aside from a slight drop earlier in the day, the crypto markets have gained nearly $46 billion since the endorsement with Bitcoin, especially gaining over 40% in a single day (a record in the ten-year history of the cryptocurrency). 

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $9410 with the goal market cap of all cryptocurrencies hovering just above $250 billion according to data from Coinmarketcap.

China Merchant Bank Image via Bloomberg