China Can’t Lead on Crypto With Isolationism
Don’t think of Beijing’s policies toward virtual currencies as a global pacesetter. They’re part of the broader turn inward.
The digital yuan won’t move China’s currency up the global power rankings.
Photographer: Yan Cong/BloombergYet again, China has gotten an edge over the U.S. — this time in virtual currencies. The central bank’s snazzy digital yuan could be a threat to dollar primacy, and, if the Federal Reserve fails to match it, the U.S. will fall dangerously behind in an entirely new area of superpower competition.
Or so some contend. In fact, the opposite is true. Beijing’s policy toward virtual currencies — especially the crypto kind — is making it an outlier, not a leader, and cutting the economy off from a major new trend in international finance. Without a shift in approach, China could well be the one that gets left behind.