Bitcoin volumes in Hong Kong skyrocket via LocalBitcoins amid city-wide protests and unrest

Bitcoin • October 2, 2019, 5:37AM EDT
UPDATED: October 2, 2019, 5:38AM EDT
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Hong Kong has seen a sharp increase in bitcoin (BTC) volumes in recent weeks as the city reels from protests and unrest.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange LocalBitcoins recorded its third-highest weekly BTC volume at $1.42 million or 172.8 BTC in the last week.

Source: LocalBitcoins, The Block

The highest weekly BTC volume on LocalBitcoins was recorded in Dec. 2017 at $1.53 million, followed by $1.51 million in Jan. 2018.

Hong Kong has been witnessing the “worst unrest in more than 50 years” amid worsening political tensions. Protestors have been rallying since June when the general public started opposing a bill that could have allowed the extradition of those convicted of crimes to mainland China and Taiwan. The bill has been withdrawn, but the protests are still ongoing.

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Yogita Khatri profile picture Yogita Khatri

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block and the author of The Funding newsletter. As our longest-serving editorial member, Yogita has been instrumental in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With over 3,000 articles to her name, Yogita is The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Before joining The Block, Yogita wrote for CoinDesk and The Economic Times. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her latest updates on X at @Yogita_Khatri5.

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