Tumbling renminbi helps push Chinese into bitcoin, say traders, Gareth Jones

A recent run-up in the price of bitcoin has been attributed to many factors: aggressive monetary easing by central banks, plans by Facebook to develop its own digital tokens, and market manipulation via Tether, another crypto asset. But another force may be giving bitcoin a lift: demand from Chinese investors.

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The PBoC has quietly been in dialogue with the markets over the possibility of launching a central bank digital currency, though there are no details or timeframe for its implementation, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Cryptocurrencies have apparently been given a boost this year by monetary easing from the European Central Bank, a dovish turn by the US Federal Reserve, and expected looser policy from the Bank of Japan to counter strengthening in the yen. Since the end of April bitcoin has roughly doubled against the US dollar, and was trading on Wednesday at about $10,570.

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