Altcoin News: Hong Kong LocalBitcoins Trades at New High

October 2, 2019, by Marko Vidrih on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE

The Bitcoin trading volume of the Hong Kong segment of the peer-to-peer platform LocalBitcoins jumped to a new high amid ongoing protests.

According to Coin.Dance, last week 12,294,796 Hong Kong dollars were spent through LocalBitcoins, which corresponds to 1.568 million US dollars or 190 BTC. The last time Bitcoin enjoyed a comparable level of interest here was in late 2017 — early 2018.

Image credit: Coin.Dance

Earlier in the network, there were already reports that Bitcoin attracted participants in Hong Kong protests seeking to hide from prosecution by the authorities, however, as a rule, these observations were not supported by real data.

“Hong Kong’s Bitcoin trading volume jumped to the highest level on the LocalBitcoins trading platform,” said eToro senior analyst Mati Greenspan. “Portfolio managers still consider Bitcoin a high-risk asset, but some people clearly see it as a refuge.”

According to Time, Hong Kong was plunged into “ worst unrest in more than 50 years” amid a worsening political situation. Protests against the law on extradition to the main territory of China have been ongoing since June.

Author: Marko Vidrih