Chinese authorities have been downright miffed at the events that transpired on the territory of the country in the recent past. Authorities have been able to apprehend one of the largest gambling schemes to this day involving over 600 individuals who were actively promoting the online betting den, which gained traction around the same time the 2018 FIFA World Cup was in full swing.
The authorities have managed to book six individuals who are given as the organizers of the whole sting and they also managed to add over 580 people who served as middle-men, promoters and facilitators of the trade.
The Facts
Overall, the whole affair involved a number of individuals with an innate understanding of both cryptocurrencies and gambling. The only drawback was that China looks down on both activities with equal vehemence.
Put in plain words, no such endeavour could have lasted for very long indeed. The surprising thing here is that the culprits managed to operate in relative secrecy and anonymity despite the many agencies that as a point of fact trawl the Chinese internet for such security breaches.
In order to launch the sting operation that will eventually see the illegal gambling cease, the Chinese authorities had to reach to 12 authorities that investigate such matters. All of them have been quite prepared to collaborate with the overall course of the investigation, making sure that no stone was left unturned. Their dedication led to the eventual discovery of the gambling ring.
All the Bad Guys in One Place
As it turned out after the culprits were apprehended, the majority of them were indeed gang-members, which made it a case of preventing crime more so than effectively cracking down on football fans, for example. The total value of the operation was quite staggering in its own right with $1.5 billion estimated as the total value of the amassed Bitcoins.
With this in mind, it was hardly surprisingly why China had agreed to push ahead with drastic measures when it comes to curtailing any operations that dent its laws and try to squeeze staggering profits out of activities that are clearly outlawed, and for a very good reason, too.
Elaborating on the case, we ought to make a point of the plain fact that over 330,000 users had made sure to participate in the activity, making a profit, but mostly losing precious Bitcoin while attempting to get rich off a punt.
Similarities Elsewhere
China has been quite the nay-sayer when it comes to fighting illicit cryptocurrency activities. The country wants to centralize all of these activities into its own hands through the use of a centralized FIAT currency which is also based on the blockchain technology, or similar.
The blockchain is not snubbed, but it’s looked down on if it’s used to push business and investors to hew farther from the party line. Much investment fleed to Singapore where they can set up their operations without having to worry about persecution.
This is quite telling insofar as it reveals that Asia, despite the opposition coming from Japan and China – for different reasons, still has bastions where it can commit its resources and not have to worry about a single thing. With this in mind, it’s quite easy to see why people prefer to set up their investments in Singapore over other countries in China.
The Chinese dragon remains ever vigilant when it comes to allowing illicit activities on home soil. The opposition that comes with it is quite understandable.
Given the number of attacks that have been launched on businesses outside of China, again facilitated by cryptocurrencies and so forth, it’s easy to understand that the country would want to keep things centralized so as to prevent a number of possible complications from giving too much leeway to ill-meaning parties.
Elsewhere and Cryptocurrency
The opposition in China seems to be the fiercest and that’s a plain fact. Nowhere else are cryptocurrencies chased down so passionately. The plain fact is that if China can’t control the flow of the digital currencies, then China is not interested in allowing them to operate on its home soil.
The European Union is far from adopting any meaningful framework that would mandate how such assets are handled, but the many EU Member States are already working on the matter. Danish banks are in fact quite opposed to allowing any cryptocurrencies on its soil.
This is understandable and respectable decision and one that will most likely be followed by other EU member states as such. With this in mind, we will be following how the crypto scene changes. The gambling scheme caught in China is one of the most staggering such infringements to date that we have been able to identify.
The Chinese authorities certainly know their job when it comes to uprooting illegal activities.
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