This is part of a larger pattern of China's gold buying in recent years.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/10/investing/china-gold/

It could reflect a growin lack of confidence in the world's currency markets, as practically every major national currency is undergoing rampant inflation of their money supplies.

One question to cryptocurrency speculators is whether cryptocurrencies will be included in this pattern of commodity acquisition. If so, which cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin will be part of the acquisition process? Some that come to mind are ethereum, assuming its technical challenges are sufficiently addressed. Monero may also be another included in this process, except that proof of ownership is antithetical to the function of the coin. This may be a reason it is avoided by the Chinese government and affiliated institutional buyers.