Today, the news that Ctrip is being investigated by the State Administration for Market Regulation has been interpreted by many in the crypto as being related to its overseas version supporting stablecoin payments. However, it actually has nothing to do with stablecoins. Looking at the timeline, it's clear that Ctrip acted against regulations and got caught in the crossfire. Two months ago, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued several documents to crack down on low-priced airfares and combat internal competition. Many airfares are now cheaper than high-speed rail tickets, meaning neither high-speed rail nor airfares are profitable. So, the news had been circulating for some time. However, Ctrip's ability to understand the authorities' intentions was poor. Instead of restraining itself, it engaged in several low-price sales before the Spring Festival to grab traffic. Therefore, the CAAC took decisive action and explicitly launched an investigation into Ctrip for monopolistic practices.

I was stunned when I saw the news about "crackdown on low-priced air tickets" a few days ago.