Alipay users in mainland China received ads promoting investments of up to $137 daily in a fund tied to a US spot Bitcoin ETF and Coinbase.
According to reports, Alipay, the largest payment platform in China with over one billion users, has been displaying advertisements related to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for users in mainland China.
On December 12, Sina Finance, a local news agency, reported that numerous mainland Chinese users encountered promotional advertisements for Bitcoin ETFs on their Alipay homepages.
The advertisement advocated for cryptocurrency investments, stating, “Global investment, cryptocurrency soaring, 10 yuan minimum investment, get on board now.”
The advertisement directed users to Huabao Overseas Technology C (QDII-FOF-LOF), which is purportedly indirectly associated with Coinbase stock and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
Daily Purchase Limit Is $140
Colin Wu, a prominent local market observer, stated on X that mainland China users are currently restricted to purchasing a maximum of 1,000 Chinese yuan ($137) of the fund’s shares per day.
The minimum investment is 10 yuan, which is equivalent to $1.40.
“It indirectly invested in Ark spot Bitcoin ETF and Coinbase stock by investing in Wood Sister’s fund.”
Furthermore, Wu observed in an additional post on X that Huabao Technology and numerous comparable QDIIs promote cryptocurrency on Alipay.
Local blockchain outlet ChainCatcher broke the news on Dec. 11, citing community reports, when the first reports on Alipay featuring crypto-related ads surfaced.
Some users verified that they had viewed the crypto advertisements on Alipay and predicted that “the next step is to buy Bitcoin directly with Alipay.”
At the time of publication, Cointelegraph had not received a response from Alipay or Wu regarding the crypto ads on Alipay.
Presence Of US Bitcoin ETFs In Mainland China Is Not Unexpected
Alipay’s parent company, Ant Financial Services Group, does provide some US ETF trading services, according to Yifan He, CEO of the prominent Chinese blockchain company Red Date Technology.
“I would not be surprised if the Bitcoin ETF were permitted,” he stated in an interview with Cointelegraph. He also mentioned that the purchasing and selling of Bitcoin are conducted exclusively through Ant Group in Chinese yuan.
“The regulators will not regard it as a significant risk or issue as long as individuals are unable to illegally export yuan,” he further stated.
He proposed that the recent crypto advertisements on Alipay are not a direct Ant offering, but rather advertisements that were published as a result of a “third party finding some loopholes.”
“It is of no consequence.” He stated, “They will vanish shortly.”
In 2019, All Bitcoin-Related Transactions Were Prohibited On Alipay
In 2019, Alipay formally prohibited any Bitcoin-related transactions on its platform, underscoring its anti-crypto stance to the Chinese government’s hostile crypto agenda.
Despite initially hosting significant global crypto trading platforms such as Binance, Huobi, and OKX (formerly OKEx), which were all founded in China, mainland China banned crypto exchanges in 2017.
In 2021, the Chinese government implemented an interdepartmental assault on cryptocurrency, thereby maintaining its anti-crypto stance.
China’s authorities have consistently maintained that crypto assets are legal properties that are safeguarded by law, despite the prohibition.
Some industry figures, such as Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, underscored rumors that China was “likely to unban” Bitcoin in July, amid the ongoing bull market of 2024. Nevertheless, the community remained primarily skeptical.
According to Bloomberg data analyst Jack Wang, mainland China investors would not have access to Hong Kong’s crypto exchange-traded funds in April.
Nevertheless, in November, Nano Labs, a designer of crypto mining chips based in Hangzhou, began accepting Bitcoin as payment for its products and services through a business account on Coinbase.
