{ "jurisdiction_id": "CN", "jurisdiction": "China (mainland)", "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/", "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0", "date_modified": "2026-08-17", "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0", "counts": { "modules": 8, "sourced_findings": 17, "source_register": 38 }, "modules": [ { "code": "crypto_licensing", "name": "Crypto Licensing", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing", "standing_position": "Mainland China maintains a blanket prohibition on crypto exchange, trading, and related intermediary/financing services, originally declared illegal by the 15 September 2021 ten-agency Notice and now carried forward and extended by the February 2026 eight-agency joint notice, which per T3 legal-advisory reporting supersedes the 2021 instrument as the sole operative primary framework. No onshore licensing or registration pathway exists for these activities.", "findings": [ { "finding": "Virtual currency exchange, token-to-token exchange, and related intermediary and financing services are illegal financial activities in mainland China (15 September 2021 Notice).", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "People's Bank of China (PBOC)-led ten-agency Notice", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/24/china-tightens-crypto-mining-crackdown-bans-trading", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "The February 2026 joint notice reasserted the 2021 ban on crypto trading and stablecoins, including cross-border activity, and imposed strict controls on RWA tokenization with only limited exceptions.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "Eight-agency joint notice (PBOC, CSRC, NDRC, MPS, SAFE et al.)", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/02/06/china-expands-crypto-crackdown-to-stablecoins-asset-tokenization", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "token_classification", "name": "Token Classification", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#token-classification-token-classification", "standing_position": "No positive legal taxonomy confers lawful-asset or currency status on any crypto-asset category. The PBOC denies virtual currencies legal-tender status, and the February 2026 notice extends non-fiat-currency-status language explicitly to stablecoins including USDT. NFTs ('digital collectibles') remain in an unresolved regulatory gray zone, distanced from crypto exposure via permissioned-chain architecture and a bar on cryptocurrency-denominated purchase.", "findings": [ { "finding": "Virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as fiat currencies, lack legal-tender status, and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "People's Bank of China (PBOC)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/380811/chinas-central-bank-reaffirms-crypto-ban-flags-stablecoin-risks-following-multi-agency-meeting", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "All cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and stablecoins like USDT, do not have the same legal status as fiat currency and should not circulate as money.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "Eight-agency joint notice (Feb 2026)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/388845/china-tightens-stance-on-rwa-tokenization-and-offshore-yuan-stablecoins-reiterates-crypto-ban", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "NFTs, marketed as 'digital collectibles,' are not formally banned but exist in a regulatory gray area without comprehensive rules; cannot be purchased with cryptocurrency and are built on permissioned rather than public blockchains to avoid crypto association.", "instrument_type": "none", "source": "NFTs ('digital collectibles')", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/09/14/a-peculiar-flavor-of-nfts-is-thriving-in-china-one-regulators-can-abide", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "on_chain_activity_regime", "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime", "standing_position": "Mining, exchange (including crypto-to-crypto/DEX activity) and now RWA tokenization are captured by standing prohibition. A Challenger-driven correction identifies that the February 2026 notice simultaneously created a licensed offshore RWA-tokenization pathway (three CSRC/NDRC/SAFE-overseen categories, same-business-same-risk-same-rules, same-day CSRC filing regime), differentiating RWA tokenization from the undifferentiated prohibition still applied to mining and general exchange.", "findings": [ { "finding": "NDRC's September 2021 notice barred new mining project investment/construction and required existing projects to wind down as a designated 'outdated' industry.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/24/china-tightens-crypto-mining-crackdown-bans-trading", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "The ban extends beyond fiat-crypto conversion to crypto-to-crypto exchange and DEX-type activity.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "2021 Notice prohibited-activities list", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/24/china-tightens-crypto-mining-crackdown-bans-trading", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "RWA tokenization (converting ownership/income rights into token-like certificates via cryptography and DLT) is prohibited unless conducted on approved financial infrastructure with regulatory authorization.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "Eight-agency joint notice (Feb 2026)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/388845/china-tightens-stance-on-rwa-tokenization-and-offshore-yuan-stablecoins-reiterates-crypto-ban", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "The February 2026 Notice, alongside prohibiting unauthorized RWA tokenization, established for the first time a licensed offshore pathway for RWA tokenization comprising three regulator-defined categories overseen by CSRC/NDRC/SAFE under a same-business-same-risk-same-rules principle, accompanied by a same-day CSRC filing-based regime (2026 Announcement No. 1) for offshore asset-backed tokenized securities.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "CSRC / NDRC / SAFE (Feb 2026 Notice, RWA tokenization provisions)", "source_url": "https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en/knowledge/publications/c943d5eb/chinas-recent-regulatory-movements-in-asset-management-practices-more-opportunities", "source_tier": "3", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "stablecoin_regime", "name": "Stablecoin Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime", "standing_position": "The February 2026 joint notice expressly bars unapproved offshore RMB-pegged stablecoin issuance by any entity or individual, onshore or offshore. PBOC separately frames stablecoins as failing KYC/AML standards and posing money-laundering, cross-border-transfer and underground-payment risks. No onshore reserve-requirement regime exists, reflecting prohibition of issuance itself rather than an unregulated gap.", "findings": [ { "finding": "Without regulator approval, no entity or individual, inside or outside China, may issue offshore stablecoins pegged to the renminbi.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "Eight-agency joint notice (Feb 2026)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/388845/china-tightens-stance-on-rwa-tokenization-and-offshore-yuan-stablecoins-reiterates-crypto-ban", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "PBOC identified stablecoins as failing KYC/AML standards, flagging money-laundering, illegal cross-border transfer, and underground-payment risks, calling them a threat to financial security.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "People's Bank of China (PBOC)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/380811/chinas-central-bank-reaffirms-crypto-ban-flags-stablecoin-risks-following-multi-agency-meeting", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "No onshore reserve-requirement regime for stablecoin issuers exists, as issuance itself is prohibited absent case-by-case regulatory approval.", "instrument_type": "none", "source": "Mainland China stablecoin issuance regime", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/388845/china-tightens-stance-on-rwa-tokenization-and-offshore-yuan-stablecoins-reiterates-crypto-ban", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "consumer_protection", "name": "Consumer Protection", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection", "standing_position": "China's Supreme People's Court has confirmed that civil legal acts involving cryptocurrency investment are invalid, with investors bearing resulting losses themselves and no civil remedy available. Industry associations have separately warned against NFT financialization and speculative marketing on a non-binding basis.", "findings": [ { "finding": "Civil legal acts involving cryptocurrency investment are deemed invalid; resulting losses are borne by investors themselves.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "Supreme People's Court of the PRC", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/402692/china-crypto-judicial-rules", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "Jointly called to curb financialization/securitization tendencies of NFTs and warned against speculative marketing of digital collectibles.", "instrument_type": "regulator", "source": "Internet Finance Association, Banking Association, Securities Association (China)", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/04/13/chinese-banking-associations-target-nfts", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "tax_treatment", "name": "Tax Treatment", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment", "standing_position": "No dedicated crypto-specific tax framework or guidance has been identified for mainland China. It remains unclear whether general PRC income tax or VAT law has been formally applied to crypto-related gains in any published ruling; this is treated as a genuine ambiguity given the underlying prohibition, not a resolved gap-by-design.", "findings": [] }, { "code": "cross_border_transfer", "name": "Cross-Border Transfer", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer", "standing_position": "The 2021 Notice treats offshore-exchange services provided to mainland residents, including overseas technical-support activity, as illegal activity subject to investigation. The February 2026 notice further tightens the offshore-structure perimeter, barring unauthorized foreign provision of RWA tokenization services to domestic counterparties and increasing scrutiny of overseas crypto/tokenization activity by Chinese entities.", "findings": [ { "finding": "Crypto-related services provided by offshore exchanges to mainland residents, including overseas tech-support staff, are subject to investigation and treated as illegal activity.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "2021 Notice", "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/09/24/china-tightens-crypto-mining-crackdown-bans-trading", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" }, { "finding": "Bars foreign entities/individuals from illegally providing RWA tokenization services to domestic counterparties and subjects overseas crypto/tokenization activities by Chinese entities to increased scrutiny.", "instrument_type": "regulation", "source": "Eight-agency joint notice (Feb 2026)", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/388845/china-tightens-stance-on-rwa-tokenization-and-offshore-yuan-stablecoins-reiterates-crypto-ban", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] }, { "code": "aml_cft_regime", "name": "AML/CFT Regime", "confidence": null, "moved_this_cycle": false, "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/china-mainland/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime", "standing_position": "AML/CFT obligations applicable to crypto activity in this jurisdiction are governed under the fleet's financial-integrity aml_ctf module and are not independently asserted in this crypto baseline; this module carries only a disambiguation claim confirming that subscription relationship.", "findings": [ { "finding": "AML/CTF obligations applicable to crypto activity in this jurisdiction are governed under the fleet's FIM aml_ctf module and are not independently asserted in the crypto consumer baseline.", "instrument_type": "none", "source": "Fleet FIM aml_ctf subscription doctrine", "source_url": "https://www.theblock.co/post/380811/chinas-central-bank-reaffirms-crypto-ban-flags-stablecoin-risks-following-multi-agency-meeting", "source_tier": "4", "retrieved_at": "2026-08-03" } ] } ] }