LocalBitcoins Records Global All Time High; Chinese Volume up 5x
Bitcoin trading value on prominent peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins has reached a new all-time high globally, spurred on by soaring activity among traders in China.
According to data from Coin.Dance , volume for last week soared beyond $24 million in bitcoin transactions. Compared to the trading week this time last year, the value of bitcoin trading has more than doubled globally.
In China, bitcoin traders responded to exchanges’ decision to freeze bitcoin withdrawals – due to the PBoC’s enforced regulation – by flocking to the Localbitcoins marketplace.
The week that followed the central bank’s latest regulatory move recorded a soaring ¥36.2 million in bitcoins traded through the platform. To put that in perspective, the previous trading week, also an all-time high at the time, recorded ¥6.6 million. In trading volumes, nearly 5000 BTC was exchanged through the platform, up from 922 the previous week.
It’s all the more notable that LocalBitcoins remains blocked in China due to the country’s state-imposed firewall.
“We’re already technically blocked in China as our site uses, among other things, Google’s re-captcha system,” a LocalBitcoins staff member wrote on a social forum. “As all Google resources are blocked in China you can’t log in to our site from mainland China unless you use a VPN.”
Venezuela’s crumbling economy that continues to see hyperinflation also shows record numbers, with Bs17.1 million traded last week building on from last week’s all-time high of Bs15.4 million.
Other countries adding to the new global high includes Norway , where investors set a weekly volume record and Mexico .
Images from Shutterstock and Coin.Dance.
