China still represents about 25% of crypto industry - FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX (FTT-USD), estimated Friday that China still represents about 25% of the cryptocurrency industry, despite escalating regulatory pressure there since 2017. Speaking to CNBC, the high-profile crypto billionaire predicted that the latest pronouncements out of Beijing could point to a crackdown in peer-to-peer crypto transactions involving the Chinese yuan. Bankman-Fried's comments followed a move by China's central bank to reinforce its anti-crypto stance, declaring all transactions involving the asset class illegal. The FTX founder characterized the move as "not super shocking" and in line with other anti-crypto moves the Chinese authorities have done in the past. However, Bankman-Fried, who has moved FTX's headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas, still thought the announcement portended a potential escalation of the government's policy. "I do think this is a signal of another crackdown," he said. While he still sees China as holding a large