Hong Kong sees huge demand for Bitcoin as ATMs run out of money
- The government has been tracking digital payment habits to follow the protestors.
- Last week, LocalBitcoins achieved higher trade volume than it managed at the height of the 2017 bull cycle.
ATMs in Hong Kong have reportedly run out of cash as people are withdrawing their funds in a hurry. The citizens are paranoid that the Chinese government may begin monitoring digital payments and freezing their assets. BeInCrypto reported that Bitcoin’s trading volume had risen to record-breaking highs on LocalBitcoins. It looks like this spike happened directly as a result of the ATMs running out of cash. Apparently, the government has been tracking digital payment habits to follow the protestors, which is why they are moving to physical cash and cryptocurrencies.
Chief Investment Officer at Hayman Capital Management, Kyle Bass tweeted:
"Bank runs all over Hong Kong now. ATM machines running out of cash but there is something more important...failed leader carrie lam(b) can now officially confiscate bank accounts and assets without recourse. The HK legal system is essentially gone. "
Last week, a staggering $12m Hong Kong dollars were traded on LocalBitcoins, which was even higher than the volume achieved at the height of the 2017 bull cycle. It should be noted that there are certain claims that the spike was caused by one trader who made 30 high-value trades. Regardless, this shows us that the protestor’s sentiment towards cryptocurrency has changed drastically.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
