Hundreds attend China's first bitcoin summit, defying Beijing's warning

Several hundred people defied the central government's bitcoin crackdown by attending China's first summit on the digital currency in Beijing this weekend.

Venture capitalist Li Xiaolai, who organised the conference, dismissed the suggestion that Beijing would ultimately outlaw the use of digital currencies in the mainland.

"Thailand has already banned bitcoin, so has Russia. But who cares if China bans it as long as everyone knows the whole world can't ban it," Li said. He denied that bitcoin users felt threatened by the central government, and said bitcoin posed no threat to Beijing.

However, the chance of the government implementing further measures aimed at disrupting the growth of bitcoin on the mainland forced the heads of the five largest bitcoin businesses in China to skip the event. The prominent figures within the bitcoin world wanted to reduce the summit's profile.

Since December, the People's Bank of China has launched a series of crackdowns against the digital currency, discouraging banks and payment companies from dealing with money involved in bitcoin trading.

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