China may be behind a large spike in new Bitcoin (BTC) addresses as authorities launch a “targeted marketing campaign” — in favor of crypto.

In a series of tweets on Oct. 5, analyst and market cyclist Cole Garner highlighted a two-year record increase in new BTC addresses last week.

Using data from on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode, Garner noted that around 22,000 new Bitcoin “entities” appeared on one day alone. The normal level is between 5,000 and 10,000 per day.

“New #bitcoin addresses were absolutely off the charts last week,” he summarized in comments.

Garner was building on other recent insights from statistician Willy Woo. Late last month, Woo described what he said was “a spike in activity by new participants coming into BTC not yet reflected in price,” also from the Glassnode data.

New addresses are an important volume indicator, Garner continued, and price action should follow. “Volume, precedes price,” he wrote.

Bitcoin entity growth daily chart. Source: Glassnode

Chinese media praises crypto performance

The source of the new addresses cannot be determined with certainty. China, however, forms Garner’s best bet, as a widely-reported media campaign in the last week of September called cryptocurrency the best-performing asset of 2020.

“Last week the Chinese government began a coordinated marketing campaign to focus Chinese retail investor psyche on crypto. Yes, this is really happening,” wrote in a further tweet.

The move also caught the attention of Primitive founding partner Dovey Wan, who described the Chinese state media campaign as “curious.”

“It’s rare for such a coordinated effort,” she commented at the time.

China has traditionally been seen as a hostile environment when it comes to consumers’ ability to engage with cryptocurrency. A ban from 2017 still remains in place, with transactions confined to over-the-counter, or OTC trades, despite mining activities openly continuing.

As Cointelegraph reported, meanwhile, bullish on-chain metrics for Bitcoin keep multiplying, with Woo among those calling for a breakout independent of traditional assets, notably gold, in the near future.