China bitcoin crackdown ‘fantastic news’ for crypto: Blockchain.com CEO

China bitcoin crackdown ‘fantastic news’ for crypto: Blockchain.com CEO

After China announced that it would begin ramping up its efforts to restrict the mining of cryptocurrency, the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell to below $30,000 earlier this week, trading at a value not seen since the turn of the new year. The cryptocurrency has since rebounded slightly, now holding at a level just above $32,000.

Though the news and subsequent crash may have caused short term headaches in the crypto market, China's crackdown on mining may actually benefit crypto in the long run, according to some experts. 

“I think it's actually fantastic news for the Bitcoin ecosystem,” Peter Smith, Blockchain.com co-founder and CEO, told Yahoo Finance Live. “You're going to see a diversification of mining operations around the world. We've been seeing that trend over the last two years, as large mines are built in Europe, the U.S., and a variety of other geographic locations—but that trend is going to accelerate hard now.”