Quote - “Historians will write that China had a majority of hashrate within their geographic borders, yet they made decisions that pushed that hashrate into more democratic and capitalistic societies. Just as North Korea chose to embrace the internet only for the elites, China is making a similar mistake here. As if that wasn’t bad enough, China’s plan for a nation state digital currency is similar to North Korea’s internal “internet.” As we have discussed over and over again, open systems beat closed systems. The Chinese approach of banning an open monetary network in pursuit of a tightly controlled monetary system is unlikely to be seen as an advantageous strategic move for their citizens. But just like North Korea, this decision will be helpful in continuing to consolidate power and ensure the longevity of the dictatorship.” - Anthony Pompliano
The Chinese government wants the Yuan to succeed over all else at the end of the day and they were content to ignore Bitcoin while it was earning them a fair chunk of cash. More recently the cash it has generated has been offset by the bad reputation for dirty fuels used to power the miners and there is little more important to the elites at the top than "losing face" among the world. Bitcoin is pretty insignificant compared to the actual fiat currencies that are in use and getting traded around the world each day - it has become simply a commodity hoarded by the richest to aid diversification within their huge portfolios. The sort of people sitting on large amounts of Bitcoin right now are the billionaires who buy football clubs and mega-yacht's - that money doesn't mean much to them as they will earn in back with little fuss in future. The Chinese government also doesn't like the idea that CCP officials or rich business people could be smuggling money out of the country in many ways undetected.