Over the past year, the cryptocurrency market took a series of heavy punches from the Chinese government. The market took the hits like a knight, but the mixtures have taken its toll in many cryptocurrency investors. The market lackluster performance in 2018 pales in comparison to its stellar thousand-percent gains in 2017.
2017 was a banner year for the cryptocurrency market with all the attention and growth it has achieved. The extreme price volatility forced the Central bank to look at more extreme measures, including the ban of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and clampdowns on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. Just after, mining production facilities in China were forced to close down, citing excessive electricity consumption. Many exchanges and production facilities have relocated overseas to avoid regulations but stayed accessible to Chinese investors. Nonetheless, they still fail to escape the claws of the Chinese Dragon.
In the latest series of government-led efforts to monitor and ban cryptocurrency trading among Chinese investors, China extended its "Eagle Eye" to monitor foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. uniswap Companies and bank accounts diagnosed of carrying out transactions with foreign crypto-exchanges and related activities are subjected to measures from reducing alienation limits to freezing of accounts. There have even been ongoing rumours among the Chinese community of more extreme measures to be enforced on foreign platforms that allow trading among Chinese investors.
The market is full of scams and unnecessary ICOs. (I'm sure you have heard news of men and women sending coins to random addresses with the promise of doubling their investments and ICOs that simply don't make sense). Many unsavvy investors are in it for the money and would care less about the technology and innovation behind it. The value of many cryptocurrencies is derived from market speculation. During the crypto-boom in 2017, participate in any ICO with the famous student advisor onboard, a promising team or a decent hype and you are guaranteed at least 3X your investments.