Crypto in mainland China: what the law says and where the risks are

01Is crypto legal in mainland China? The short answer

No — or, more precisely, providing crypto trading services in mainland China is illegal financial activity, whether the provider sits inside the country or abroad. Simply holding Bitcoin is not expressly prohibited, but trades are not protected by contract law, losses are yours alone, and people who supply payment channels for trading can face criminal liability. There is no lawful answer to “how do I buy Bitcoin with yuan in China”.

02What the 2021 “924 notice” actually says

On 15 September 2021 the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) — together with the Cyberspace Administration, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the market regulator SAMR, the banking regulator CBIRC, the securities regulator CSRC and the foreign-exchange regulator SAFE — issued the Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation (Yinfa [2021] No. 237). Published on 24 September, it is often called the “924 notice”.

Its key points, paraphrased from the official text: virtual currencies have no legal-tender status and must not circulate as money. Fiat-to-crypto exchange, crypto-to-crypto exchange, acting as a central counterparty, providing information-intermediary or pricing services, token-issuance financing and crypto derivatives are all strictly prohibited. And crucially, offshore exchanges that serve mainland residents over the internet are also engaged in illegal financial activity; mainland staff and anyone providing them with marketing, payment or technical support will be held accountable, with criminal liability where a crime is involved.

2013 and 2017 details are from secondary sources; the 2021 notice is on gov.cn.

03Is it illegal to hold Bitcoin in China?

This is the most misunderstood part. The notice does not say that holding Bitcoin is illegal, and no criminal provision makes mere possession an offence. Courts in Shanghai, Shenzhen and elsewhere have reportedly treated Bitcoin as legally protected virtual property in rulings between 2019 and 2023.

That is not the same as “trading crypto is legal for individuals”. The notice states that where people invest in virtual currencies and derivatives against public order and good morals, the related civil acts are void and resulting losses are borne by the investor. A purchase agreement, an “investment on your behalf” or a coin loan may not be enforced by a court; if the other side disappears, suing to recover is an uphill fight. The accurate summary: holding is not expressly banned, trading services are illegal, and contracts are unprotected.

According to reports from late 2025, multi-agency coordination meetings led by the PBoC also reiterated that stablecoins count as virtual currency under the 2021 notice, and warned about stablecoin and real-world-asset (RWA) promotions aimed at mainland residents.

04Binance, Huobi and mainland users

Searches for “Binance mainland users” or “Huobi mainland users” usually ask one thing: does it still work? Legally, the answer sits in the notice — offshore exchanges serving mainland residents are engaged in illegal financial activity. At platform level, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Coinbase, Kraken and others exclude mainland China in their terms of service, and OKX and Huobi (now HTX) offboarded mainland users after the 2021 notice. Apple’s China App Store has also removed many crypto trading apps.

So we will not explain how to use Binance from the mainland, and we shouldn’t. The platforms we review elsewhere are recommended only to residents of the places they are allowed to serve. If you see ads promising a “special channel for mainland users” or “no-ID accounts”, treat that as a red flag — more on that below.

The 2021 notice also says financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions may not open accounts, transfer funds or clear and settle payments for virtual-currency business, and internet companies may not provide online premises, commercial display, marketing or paid traffic for it. Banks, Alipay, WeChat Pay and e-commerce marketplaces are therefore not lawful channels for buying crypto.

05Alipay, WeChat Pay, Taobao and the “U dealer” risk

Queries like “buy Bitcoin with Alipay” or “Bitcoin on Taobao” usually come from people looking for a familiar way to pay. Under the notice, payment institutions cannot move money for crypto business and marketplaces cannot host it — and selling Bitcoin or USDT for yuan on a shopping platform is itself the fiat-to-crypto exchange business the notice prohibits.

The bigger, more practical risk is informal trading. Swapping USDT with strangers through a personal bank card or payment account means the yuan you receive may come from telecom fraud or underground banking. In anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering sweeps such as the “card-severing” campaign, such accounts are often frozen, and unfreezing can take a long time. People who repeatedly receive and forward funds for others to earn a spread — so-called “U dealers” — risk prosecution for aiding information-network criminal activity or concealing criminal proceeds. Enforcement targets exactly this: laundering through USDT, telecom fraud and pig-butchering scams tied to Southeast Asian scam compounds.

06The digital yuan (e-CNY) is not a cryptocurrency

The only lawful “digital currency” on the mainland is the e-CNY, issued by the PBoC and piloted since 2020. It has the same legal status as cash and is always worth one yuan — nothing to speculate on. An action plan to strengthen the e-CNY management system took effect on 1 January 2026 and reportedly made wallet balances more deposit-like and interest-bearing. Across borders, the e-CNY takes part in the mBridge multi-CBDC project with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the UAE central bank and the Saudi central bank.

07Hong Kong: a regulated market for HK residents, not a gateway

Hong Kong is a separate jurisdiction with its own licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). As of May 2026 the Securities and Futures Commission list showed 13 licensed platforms, including OSL, HashKey Exchange and HKVAX; Crypto.com and a few others are only “deemed-licensed” applicants. A Stablecoins Ordinance has been in force since 1 August 2025.

That system is built for Hong Kong residents and the Hong Kong market. Licensed platforms reportedly do not market to mainland residents and in practice generally do not onboard mainland-ID holders without HK residency. Hong Kong’s rules do not change mainland law: mainland residents remain bound by the 2021 notice. If you do live in Hong Kong, see our Hong Kong buying guide.

08Scams that target mainland users

Precisely because there is no legal channel, mainland users are a prime target for fraud. The most common patterns:

For the history of exchange collapses and how to spot a fake platform, read our exchange safety guide; for account and key security basics, see crypto security. The legal status in the rest of Asia is in our countries hub.

FAQ

Sources

• PBoC et al. — Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) · gov.cn, checked Oct 2026
• People’s Bank of China · official site
• SFC — Lists of virtual asset trading platforms · updated 29 May 2026
• Wikipedia — Digital renminbi · background
• Wikipedia — Prince Group · background

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