Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBy Sophie Song
China now accounts for nearly a third of the daily bitcoin transactions in the world. The virtual currency's popularity in China has contributed to its shooting over $300 in value, but investors shouldn't be rash in buying bitcoins, experts said.
At the end of September, the number of bitcoins traded every day in the Chinese market was 17,500, up 24 percent from three months before and accounting for 30 percent of the world's total transaction, a report from Genesis Block, a New York-based digital currency research group, said recently.
The virtual currency has been gaining traction in China, but the latest surge in demand is widely seen as connected to the acceptance of bitcoins by Baidu Jiasule, a firewall service for websites co-developed by Baidu (BIDU), China's predominant search engine.
By the end of October, on BTC China, the largest Chinese bitcoin trading platform, the price of a bitcoin has grown to around 1,270 yuan (about $209 based on Friday's exchange rates) from 800 yuan early that month, Caixin, a Chinese financial news outlet, reported Thursday. Baidu's prominence led many to speculate that other Chinese companies could follow suit and accept bitcoins as payment.
"This is an extremely important moment," one investor said, if it leads to the acceptance of bitcoins in wider ranges of online payments.
In addition, it could be a marketing ploy Internet companies employ to advertise new products, said Liu Xiao, an analyst with public policy think tank Anbound Consulting. %VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%Given that every payment for Jiasule only amounts to a small fraction of a bitcoin, the real impact on the market is negligible.
"Every time the bitcoin market boomed, it was driven by a stunt and not backed by real transactions," Liu said, according to Caixin.
Even so, the Chinese market has become an important driving force behind the virtual currency's increasingly wide use and may top all other similar currencies in terms of transaction volume, the Genesis Block report said.
There are nearly 20 bitcoin trading platforms in China, and investors say they are more prone to hacker attacks than platforms in developed countries. Chinese investors also face potential regulatory issues, since China has no law addressing the trade of bitcoins and their connection with the yuan and with the real economy.
At $449 million crops are North Carolina's biggest export to China, followed by computers and electronics at $386 million, and machinery (ex-electrical) at $281 million.
North Carolina's exports to the rest of the world grew 80% in the same period. China is North Carolina's second biggest export market after Canada.
At $585 million, machinery (except electrical) is Pennsylvania's top export to China. This is followed by chemicals at $426 million, and minerals and ores at $424 million.
Pennsylvania's exports to the rest of the world grew 132% between 2003 - 2012. And China is its second biggest export market after Canada.
At $1.8 billion transportation equipment is South Carolina's biggest export to China. Chemicals are its second biggest export at $298 million, followed by machinery (ex-electrical) at $235 million.
In the same period, South Carolina's exports to the rest of the world grew 93%. China is South Carolina's third biggest export market, after Canada and Germany.
At $1.5 billion, crops are Minnesota's top export to China, followed by machinery (ex-electrical) at $401 million, and computers and electronics at $315 million.
In the same period its exports to the rest of the world grew 75%. Canada is Minnesota's top export market followed by China and Mexico.
At $1.1 billion, crops are Ohio's biggest export to China, followed by machinery (excluding electrical) at $511 million. Transportation equipment is the third biggest export at $399 million.
Ohio's exports to the rest of the world grew 57% in the same period. China is Ohio's third biggest export market after Canada and Mexico.
At $1.6 billion, transportation equipment is Michigan's biggest export to China. Crops are it's second biggest export at $453 million, followed by machinery (ex-chemicals) at $362 million.
Michigan's exports to the rest of the world grew 63% between 2003 - 2012. China is Michigan's third biggest export market after Canada and Mexico.
At $1.2 billion, waste and scrap are New York's biggest exports to China. Transportation equipment is a close second at $732 million, followed by machinery (ex-electrical) at $723 million.
In the same period, New York's exports to the rest of the world grew 89%. China is it's sixth biggest export market, with Canada, Hong Kong and Switzerland taking up the top 3 spots.
At $2.4 billion crops are Illinois' top export to China. At $743 million, machinery (except electrical) is Illinois' second biggest export to China, followed by waste and scrap at $589 million.
Illinois' exports to the rest of the world climbed 140% in the same period. Canada and Mexico are its biggest export markets, with China coming in third.
At $4.9 billion, transportation equipment is Washington's biggest export to China. Computer and electronics are the second biggest exports at $534 million, followed by waste and scrap at $430 million.
In the same period Washington's exports to the rest of the world grew 89%. Canada is its largest export market, followed by China and then Japan.
At $3.7 billion, chemicals are Texas' top export to China, followed by computer and electronics at $1.4 billion, and crops and machinery (ex-electrical) at $1 billion each.
Between 2003 - 2012 Texas' exports to the rest of the world grew 170%. Mexico and Canada are Texas' top two export markets, with China taking the third spot.
At $3.9 billion computers and electronics are California's biggest exports to China. At $2.4 billion waste and scrap are the second biggest exports, followed by machinery (ex-electrical) and transportation equipment at $1.4 billion each.
California's exports to the rest of the world increased by 69% from 2003 - 2012. Mexico and Canada are California's top two export markets, followed by China.
