Yao Qian, the former head of China’s Digital Currency Research Institute and a key architect behind the early design of the digital yuan, became the center of controversy after corruption investigations revealed he had accepted bribes — including 2,000 Ethereum in 2018.
At that time, ETH was trading near $100–$200, but within a few years its value surged above $4,000, turning the illicit payment into a fortune on paper. Many online commentators jokingly called this the “perfect buy low, sell high strategy,” highlighting the irony that a top regulator of digital finance personally profited from the very assets China was trying to strictly control.
In 2023–2024, Chinese authorities sentenced Yao to a lengthy prison term for abuse of power and bribery, using his case as a warning that no official is above the law — even those who helped design the nation’s future financial system. The scandal also sparked debate about how deeply crypto had penetrated elite circles despite Beijing’s tough anti-crypto stance.
The story remains one of the most striking examples of how the volatile rise of cryptocurrency intersected with politics, corruption, and the birth of central bank digital currencies.#ETHETFsApproved #ETHETFS #ETH🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 $ETH
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