On 28 November 2025, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) convened a joint meeting on combating speculations in virtual currency trading. Attendees included officials from the Ministry of Public Security, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Office of the Central Financial Commission, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Justice, the PBOC, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
It was noted at the meeting that in recent years, relevant authorities have earnestly implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council. In accordance with the Notice on Further Preventing and Resolving the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading and Speculation jointly issued by the PBOC and nine other departments in 2021, the authorities have taken firm actions to crack down on speculations in virtual currency trading, and rectified disorderly activities in the virtual currency sector, achieving notable results. However, driven by multiple factors, speculative activities involving virtual currencies have resurged recently, accompanied by a recurrence of related illegal activities. Consequently, risk prevention and control now face new circumstances and challenges.
The meeting emphasized that virtual currencies they are not legal tender and lack the equivalent legal standing of fiat currency. They shall not—and cannot—be used as currency in market transactions. Activities related to virtual currencies are deemed illegal financial activities. Stablecoins are a type of virtual currency and, at present, cannot effectively meet requirements for customer identification and anti–money laundering, among others. They carry risks of being used for money laundering, fundraising fraud, and illicit cross-border transfers of funds.
It was required at the meeting that all relevant parties should be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and plenary sessions held thereafter; take risk prevention and control as a perpetual priority of financial work; and continue to uphold the prohibitive policy stance on virtual currencies, maintaining sustained pressure against illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies. All agencies should deepen coordination and cooperation, improve regulatory policies and legal frameworks, focus on key links such as information flows and capital flows, strengthen information sharing, further enhance monitoring capabilities, and strictly crack down on illegal and irregular activities to safeguard people’s property and uphold stable economic and financial order.
