Bitcoin skeptic lands key post at the People’s Bank of China

Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has been named secretary of the CPC at the institution. The Financial Times reports.

According to the publication, the 59-year-old specialist could be a candidate for the head of the PBoC. In that case he would succeed the current governor Yi Gang.

Pan studied a postdoctoral program at Cambridge, and was a senior research fellow at Harvard. He has experience in commercial banks and is known for his skeptical attitude toward cryptocurrencies.

“If you sit by the river and watch, one day a Bitcoin corpse will float past you,” Pan said in 2017, citing Western experts.

At the same time, he cited a French scholar Éric Pichet’s article in which the author compared digital gold to a bubble and called it “the embodiment of reckless speculation.”

In September 2021, the PBoC, in a joint statement with nine state authorities, illegal financial activity. In February 2022, China tightened criminal liability for illegal fundraising in digital assets.

Against this backdrop, January 2023 saw Hong Kong’s authorities announce a readiness to welcome cryptocurrency companies from around the world. According to Bloomberg, the PRC government exerts tacit support for the jurisdiction in its bid to become a cryptocurrency hub.

According to former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, Beijing intends to return to the digital-asset industry via Hong Kong.

However, in May, China Pacific Insurance chief Shan Zhong stated that mainland China has not changed its anti-cryptocurrency stance.

In June, Binance chief Changpeng Zhao saw signs of a bull market after a report about digital assets on Chinese television.