经济学人370:比特币在中国 美梦破碎

　　Bitcoin in China
比特币在中国
A dream dispelled¹
美梦破碎
Chinese regulators make life hard for crypto-currencies
中国的监管机构使加密电子货币难以生存
NOT so long ago, China looked to be the promised land for crypto-currencies. Bitcoin and its rivals were traded freely and online exchanges proliferated². On one estimate, China accounted for more than half of the world's trade in Bitcoin last year. Near the end of last year, when its price was above $1,000, more than 100,000 coins were being traded daily on BTC China, a local exchange.
不久前，中国看起来还是加密电子货币的应许之地，比特币与其竞争对手在此进行自由买卖，在线交易量激增。有人估计，中国去年的比特币交易量超过其全球总交易量的一半。去年年末，比特币价格高于1,000美元，作为国内比特币交易平台，比特币中国那时的日交易量超过10万比特币。
比特币.jpg
Alas³, those heady days are gone. Prices have plunged⁴ below $500 of late and hardly 2,000 coins are now traded daily on BTC China. According to Bobby Lee, the exchange's founder⁵, “Most investors⁶ have left the market.” What happened? The short answer is regulation.
唉，可叹那些激动人心的日子已然一去不复返。比特币价格在后期爆跌至500美元以下，比特币中国的日交易量几乎还不到2,000比特币。其创始人李启元表示，“大部分投资者已离场。”到底发生了什么？说得简单点：监管插手了。
In early December China's central bank declared that Bitcoin was not a currency. This slowed its rise, but enthusiasts⁷ remained unbowed as the declaration fell far short of the outright⁸ ban some had feared. Then regulators forbade the firms that act as middlemen between businesses and credit-card networks from working with the exchanges. That was a more serious blow, but exchange operators found ways round the ban.
去年12月初，中国央行宣告比特币不是货币。这减缓了比特币增速，但仍有狂热者并不为之所动，坚称央行的此项声明远未达到有些人所畏惧的全面禁止比特币的程度。但紧随其后，监管机构关停那些与比特币交易平台合作，充当商家和信用卡网络交易“中间人”角色的第三方公司，则是对其更严重的打击。然而，交易平台运营商们还是找到了绕过禁令的方式。
Rumours⁹ now suggest that the central bank has instructed commercial banks to halt all dealings with cyber-exchanges by April 15th. Such a move would be even more harmful to Bitcoin, says Zennon Kapron of Kapronasia, a local expert on the topic. As in most places, Bitcoin has not taken off as a means of payment in China; instead, it is mainly a speculative¹⁰ investment. But the steady drip of new rules makes it ever harder for ordinary Chinese to invest.
当前有传言称，央行已指示商业银行于4月15日前停止一切相关的网络虚拟交易。财务和技术咨询企业亚锴璞隆的曾诺?卡普隆是国内研究此类问题的专家，他表示，这一举动会对比特币造成更大伤害。在中国的大多数地方，比特币仍未成功变为一种支付手段，与之相对，它主要充当一种投机性的投资工具。但新规定的稳步渗透使中国的普通百姓越来越难以用其进行投资。
Still, one venture capitalist keen on crypto-currencies predicts “some workaround is likely”. If banks are forbidden to hold corporate¹¹ accounts for exchanges, one insider whispers that personal bank accounts of senior executives could be used instead. OKCoin, another Chinese exchange, insists it has an emergency plan involving an “overseas version”.
不过，一位热衷于加密电子货币的风险投资家预测，“打擦边球还是有可能的”。据一位内部知情人士透露，如果银行被禁止持有企业账户进行交易，高管的个人银行账户可用来作为替代。另一个中国比特币交易平台OKCoin则坚称它一直拥有涉及“海外版本”的应急预案。
It is too early to declare Bitcoin dead in China. On March 21st the central bank clarified that it was not banning trading in crypto-currencies. Still, its crackdown has dispelled the dream that was helping¹² to drive up Bitcoin's value in the first place. As Mr Lee points out wistfully, “A billion Chinese won't all be buying Bitcoin anytime soon.”
现在就断言比特币在中国必死还为时过早。3月21日，央行澄清称它并未禁止买卖加密电子货币。但尽管如此，它对比特币的打压还是使人们最初对于助推比特币价值飙升的美梦破碎了。正如李先生所担忧的那样，“十亿中国人并不都会在一时间立即购买比特币。”

1 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 proliferated   

激增( proliferate的过去式和过去分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Books and articles on the subject have proliferated over the last year. 过去一年以来，论及这一问题的书和文章大量涌现。
• Influenza proliferated throughout the country. 流感在全国蔓延。

3 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

8 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

9 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

10 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。