In September 2021, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the People's Bank of China and other seven authorities issued the “Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Speculation Risks in Virtual Currency Trading” (hereinafter “the Notice”, 关于进一步防范和处置虚拟货币交易炒作风险的通知).
The Notice reiterates that virtual currencies issued by non-monetary authorities that use encryption technologies, distributed accounts or similar technologies and exist in digital forms, such as Bitcoin and Ether, including so-called stable coins like Tether, do not have the same legal status as legal tender and cannot circulate in the market. Virtual-currency-related services including virtual currency exchange, trading virtual currencies as central counterparties, providing matchmaking services for virtual currency transactions, token fundraising, and virtual currency derivatives trading are defined as illegal financial activities. It is also illegal for overseas virtual currency exchanges to provide services to residents in China through the Internet.
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Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team