Bitcoin Trading on LocalBitcoins Sees Huge Spike During Hong Kong’s Protests

Coindance’s data shows that there is a massive Bitcoin volume spike in Hong Kong with over $13 Million being traded just last month.

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Given that China monitors its citizens through their spending habits, cryptocurrencies allow them to move to a different form of transferring value that is not controlled by the state. LocalBitcoins has been posting near all-time high volumes for Bitcoin in these countries week after week as citizens flee from uncertainty and choose to place their trust in the largest cryptocurrency.

The figures come as Hong Kong continues to face huge political upheaval. As protests continued for a 17th week, China vowed not to allow what it called “destabilization” of its regime. The territory thus joins the slowly increasing list of areas seeing a boom in Bitcoin trading in 2019. Expectations are growing that countries as diverse as Zimbabwe and India will follow the trend already set by Venezuela.

The protests began in June over plans – later put on ice, and finally withdrawn in September – that would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China. But they've now spread to reflect wider demands for democratic reform.

Bitcoin volumes in #HongKong have spiked to their highest level ever recorded @LocalBitcoins trading site.

About $13 million HKD exchanged in the last week.

For a portfolio manager, BTC is still considered a risk asset but for some people, it is clearly treated as a safe haven.

— Mati Greenspan (@MatiGreenspan) October 2, 2019

Meanwhile, gold prices climbed higher as safe-haven demand for the yellow metal rises amidst the escalating protests. The local banking system, however, was able to maintain liquidity and survive the protest thanks to a massive injection of local currency. But that isn’t a sustainable, long-term solution, precisely because of the way that the fractional-reserve banking system works.