BTCC, one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges by market share, has recently reported unusually high transaction volume following the recent slump in values of global stock and commodities.
“The trading volumes we saw over the past few days are not the highest we have seen since 2011, but we expect greater trading volumes in the future as bitcoin increases in popularity among all assets,” BTCC CEO Bobby Lee told Bitcoin Magazine.
According to the trading data provided by BTCC, its exchange has processed more than 46,880 bitcoin over the past seven days, settling more than $1.83 million, at around $391 per bitcoin.
However, Lee told Bitcoin Magazine that the demand of bitcoin among Chinese investors gradually increased due to the underwhelming performance of all asset classes and commodities globally. Because of the economic slump in the United States, the Southeast Asian region, and China, he predicts the demand for bitcoin to continue rising in the upcoming weeks.
“The recent increase in trading volume cannot be traced to any single factor. Rather, there was a confluence of global factors that contributed to increased demand for bitcoin, including the recent slump in global stock and commodity prices,” he explained.
One factor that could have possibly led to the explosive demand for bitcoin in China is the announcement of one of the biggest China stock market crash warnings, as the government stated economic growth in 2015 declined to 6.9 percent.
President Xi Jinping officially requested officials to stabilize short-term growth, as the country’s economic growth was the slowest recorded in 25 years.
“China’s reported growth rate for 2015 raises many questions rather than providing full reassurance about the economy’s true growth momentum,” Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University and the former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division said in an interview.
Legendary Swiss investor Marc Faber, who in the entirety of his career discussed the trending value of precious metals such as gold also expressed his optimism toward bitcoin in a recent interview.
“When you talk about doom and gloom for this year, 2016, I have to point out that in 2015, with the exception of people that held bitcoins, the performance of all asset classes has been poor,” said Faber.
While it is difficult to speculate the trend of bitcoin price and trading volumes in China, Bitcoin experts and exchanges are optimistic about the rising demand for bitcoin and expect a constant increase in trading volume over the next few months. The price of bitcoin at most major bitcoin exchanges have also recovered, to a certain extent, from the Mike Hearn exit, demonstrating a strong performance amid global economic stability and economic slump.