A recently released Goldman Sachs report says that 80% of global Bitcoin trading volume comes out of China, where it is traded against the yuan.
The report listed USD as the second-highest traded currency, followed by yen and euros.
The data is consistent with that on bitcoinity.org which indicates that roughly 78% of all bitcoin trading volume is taking place on either OKCoin, BTC China or Huobi, all China-based exchanges.
Furthermore, the traded volume in China continues to rise despite bitcoin's price troubles over the past year and the apparent popping of the China-fueled price bubble in late 2013.
The strength comes despite the continued ban of banks, retailers and third-party payment processors like Alipay and Tencent from dealing in cryptocurrency or with related businesses. Though well short of an outright bitcoin ban, the restrictions should in theory curtail the flow of money to exchanges. Still, exchanges and traders alike have found loopholes to beat the system.
Possibly helping matters have been the combined factors of a strengthening dollar, a weakening yuan and the highest rate of capital outflows in more than a decade. While bitcoin may not be the surest of investments, it does provide an outlet for those looking to skirt capital controls or get in early before the next speculative bubble.
