In a rare and coordinated effort, Chinese state-owned media have highlighted cryptocurrencies’ performance so far this year, pointed out cryptoassets were this year’s top-performing investment.
The country’s top broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), published a three-minute news clip this Friday highlighting cryptoassets soared by 70% so far this year, and added that “cryptocurrency has undoubtedly become the top performing investment” among various assets.
CCTv’s clip was followed by an online article published by the state-owned news agency Xinhua, titled “Cryptocurrency is this year’s ‘No. 1 asset.’” A similar article appeared on the print version of one of the longest-running state media, Cankaoxiaoxi.
Cankaoxiaoxi is known for selectively translating news reports from foreign sources, including some that are normally blocked by China’s Great Firewall. Its crypto article was a translation of a Bloomberg article that pointed out via its Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index that top cryptocurrencies are outperforming gold so far this year.
The articles and news clip further pointed out that various countries’ economic stimulus measures and the recent trend behind decentralized finance have helped cryptocurrency prices go up. They also warned retail investors about the risks of investing in crypto.
The CCTV clip was widely shared on social media by the Chinese cryptocurrency community, with some saying it was a bullish signal as it was an unusual move at odds with China’s stance that crypto speculation could undermine financial stability.
The rate and coordinated effort touting cryptocurrencies intrigued some commentators, which implied there could be ulterior motives for the move. Typically, state-owned media in China carry political agendas, CoinDesk reports. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao commented that most probably “don’t understand how big this is.”
Shortly after the reports, CCTV covered the development of China’s upcoming digital currency, the DCEP.
