China is the world's biggest trading platform for Bitcoins - a virtual currency that allows instant payments. New data show 100,000 bitcoins are traded in China everyday - that's half the global market. It’s fast becoming a tangible trading currency, with a Chinese property developer recently signing up to accept the payments.

But despite that, there’s still uncertainty over the Bitcoin’s long term future.

Jake Smith came to Beijing to learn Chinese. But when he came across Bitcoin, he saw an opportunity. He’s helped several bars and restaurants set up Bitcoin payment systems.

"I like to use it as a currency. I like to buy things with it. Although, because its price is very volatile it’s kind of hard to use it as a stable currency. Most people use it as a speculative investment. I think most of the speculation is gambling on its future use as a currency. So lots of these speculators buy Bitcoin and hoard it, but they don’t do anything to promote its real-world use." Jake said.

The crypto-currency is growing both on and offline.

A subsidiary of Baidu, the country’s biggest search engine, began accepting Bitcoin payments last month and a Shanghai property developer has joined in too.

Reporter: “In theory, currencies are valued based on how many people accept them. And Bitcoins are becoming increasingly accepted by businesses in China. Today this restaurant became among the first in Beijing to start accepting payments in Bitcoins, suggesting their use, is becoming more widespread.”

Aside from offering a fast and easy way of buying things, Bitcoins are also an increasingly popular investment.

Since January, China’s Bitcoin trade surged from just over 1,000 a day, to 100,000 in November.

Finance professor, Zhao Longkai, says this is partly due to a lack of choice, given China’s under-performing stock market and tightly-controlled property sector.

"This is a high risk investment and actually, there are not a lot of opportunities for Chinese people to do that. Chinese people are getting rich and when we have high net worth investors, they need different types of investment, they need something like hedge funds. But in China, those types of investment products are not available yet. The only place you can invest is the stock market. They have a much higher risk attitude." Zhao said.

China’s Bitcoin trading platform, BTC China, has seen its highest trade volume exceed 200 million yuan, or 33 million US dollars a day - overtaking Japan as the world’s biggest platform.

But the flurry of interest in it as a commodity, makes its value as a currency unstable.

"I think for (the) central government, right now, I don’t think it’s a currency. If it’s a currency, the main function is payment. But here, people are buying and storing it for the future." Zhao said.

Last week the Deputy-Governor of the China’s Central Bank said while Beijing will not recognize Bitcoin as a currency, people are free to engage in the market.

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