More on the China saga ( copied form Reddit ) It seems china are adapting to btc, not banning it. Thats all - People around here are going to feel really dumb once they figure out what this actually means. China has created the path to accepting bitcoin by businesses and now business are in the process of adjusting to follow this path. Part of that adjustment is pulling back their original plans that don't match the State approved path. In order for a merchant to sell to a consumer in China today; they need to work with an approved virtual commodities exchange to handle the conversion. China is a communist country and it seems that many people here are forgetting this. It is not a free market. The State controls the market and they have created a framework that allows bitcoin to exist within their systems of control. This is good for bitcoin but bad for the individual freedom of Chinese citizens as the short term hope that bitcoin offered to break free from the State controlled financial system has been squashed. You can expect many many businesses in China to partner with an exchange like BTCChina to sell consumers good and services in the coming months. What does that look like? Well let's say you want to buy a refrigerator in China using some of your bitcoins because bitcoins are worth more now than when you bought them effectively allowing you to buy that refrigerator for a lower out of pocket cost to you. When you checkout, you will send BTC to the stores BTCChina exchange account and then walk out of the store with your item. That is where the transaction ends for the consumer. The department store will be able to cash out the BTC you just deposited in their VC account at their will. Some will do it right away and some may hold. Why is this being mandated by the State? Because China is a communist country and they want to track conversion. They are doing it under the guise of stopping money laundering but there are probably many reasons for it. Don't think for a second that the NSA isn't doing the same thing but without us knowing. China is just open about it because they can be. By making this mandate, china only has to watch the state approved exchangers instead of a million merchants. Mom and Pop merchants will probably still accept BTC directly, but it will be under the table and at great risk to both parties if they are caught. So there you go. I hope this put yesterday and today into perspective for you. Good luck!