BEIJING: On Oct. 4, a Chinese trader noticed a sharp drop in the price of crypto tokens backed by Nike's Air Jordan sneakers on a U.S.-based exchange after the general manager of the NBA's Houston Rockets tweeted support for the protests in Hong Kong.
In China, the trading of tokens and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is banned, but Chinese investors are active on overseas exchanges. On 55.com, traders can exchange yuan for cryptocurrencies such as Tether via Alipay or WeChat to acquire tokens. Last week, Houston Rockets sneakers and other merchandise were pulled from several Nike stores in major Chinese cities.