They were only two seemingly innocuous words: “investment alternatives.” But when applied to Bitcoin — the seminal cryptocurrency — by an official from the People’s Bank of China in a recent panel discussion, they reverberated like a firecracker. “A remarkable step for BTC,” Lennix Lai, director of financial markets at OKEx, calls the statement. Michael Peshkam, executive in residence at European business school INSEAD, describes the central banker’s remarks as “a significant shift in the country’s position” on crypto. To recap: On April 18 at a CNBC event at the Boao Forum for Asia, Li Bo, deputy governor of the PBoC — China’s central bank — said: “We regard Bitcoin and stablecoin as crypto assets. […] These are investment alternatives.” CNBC reporter Arjun Kharpal commented: