Today, the official website of the People's Bank of China released the "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks Related to Virtual Currencies and Tokenization of Real-World Assets (Yin Fa [2026] No. 42)" issued by the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Financial Regulatory Bureau, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The full text is as follows:
People's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, speculative activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) have occurred from time to time, disrupting the economic and financial order and endangering the property safety of the people. In order to further prevent and handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and to effectively maintain national security and social stability, in accordance with the "People's Bank of China Law of the People's Republic of China," "Commercial Bank Law of the People's Republic of China," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Securities Investment Fund Law of the People's Republic of China," "Futures and Derivatives Law of the People's Republic of China," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations on the Administration of Renminbi of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations on Preventing and Handling Illegal Fundraising," "Foreign Exchange Control Regulations of the People's Republic of China," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Central Cyberspace Administration, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the following matters are hereby notified:
I. Clarifying the Essential Attributes of Virtual Currencies, Tokenization of Real-World Assets, and Related Business Activities
(1) Virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as legal tender. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, and existing in digital form. They do not have legal tender status and should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.
Activities related to virtual currencies are considered illegal financial activities. Engaging in the exchange of legal tender for virtual currencies, exchanges between virtual currencies, buying and selling virtual currencies as a central counterparty, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of financial products related to virtual currencies within the territory is suspected of illegal activities such as illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures businesses, and illegal fundraising, all of which are strictly prohibited and will be resolutely banned according to law. Foreign entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.
Stablecoins pegged to legal tender have, in effect, fulfilled some functions of legal tender in circulation. Without the consent of the relevant departments in accordance with laws and regulations, no domestic or foreign entity or individual may issue stablecoins pegged to the Renminbi abroad.
(2) Tokenization of real-world assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology to convert ownership, income rights, and other rights of assets into tokens (certificates) or other rights and bond certificates with token (certificate) characteristics, and to engage in issuance and trading activities.
Engaging in tokenization activities of real-world assets within the territory, as well as providing related intermediary and information technology services, is suspected of illegal activities such as illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures businesses, and illegal fundraising, and should be prohibited; except for related business activities conducted based on specific financial infrastructure with the consent of the competent business authorities in accordance with laws and regulations. Foreign entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.
II. Improving the Work Mechanism
(3) Departmental coordination and collaboration. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Financial Regulatory Bureau, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, will improve the work mechanism and strengthen coordination with the Central Cyberspace Administration, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to form a joint force, guiding all regions to carry out risk prevention and handling work related to illegal financial activities involving virtual currencies.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Financial Regulatory Bureau, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, will improve the work mechanism and strengthen coordination with the Central Cyberspace Administration, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate to form a joint force, guiding all regions to carry out risk prevention and handling work related to illegal financial activities involving the tokenization of real-world assets.
(4) Strengthening local implementation. Provincial-level people's governments are responsible for the prevention and handling of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets within their administrative regions, specifically led by local financial management departments, with participation from branches and dispatched agencies of the State Council's financial management departments, as well as telecommunications, public security, market regulation, and other departments, coordinating with cyberspace departments, people's courts, and people's procuratorates to establish a normalized work mechanism, effectively connecting with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, forming a collaborative work pattern between central and local authorities, actively preventing and properly handling risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintaining economic and financial order and social stability.
III. Strengthening Risk Monitoring, Prevention, and Handling
(5) Strengthening risk monitoring. The People's Bank of China, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and cyberspace departments will continuously improve monitoring technologies and system support, strengthen cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish and improve information sharing and cross-verification mechanisms, and timely grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets. Provincial-level people's governments should fully utilize local monitoring and early warning mechanisms, and local financial management departments, together with branches and dispatched agencies of the State Council's financial management departments, as well as cyberspace, public security, and other departments, should effectively connect online monitoring, offline investigations, and fund monitoring, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, timely share risk information, and improve the rapid response mechanism for warning information transmission, verification, and handling.
(6) Strengthening the management of financial, intermediary, and technical service institutions. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) must not provide account opening, fund transfer, and clearing and settlement services for activities related to virtual currencies, must not issue and sell financial products related to virtual currencies, must not include virtual currencies and related financial products in the scope of collateral, must not engage in insurance business related to virtual currencies or include virtual currencies in the scope of insurance liability, and must strengthen risk monitoring, reporting any clues of illegal activities to the relevant departments in a timely manner. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) must not provide custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service institutions must not provide intermediary, technical, and other services for unauthorized activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets and related financial products.
(7) Strengthening the management of internet information content and access. Internet enterprises must not provide online business venues, commercial displays, marketing promotions, paid traffic diversion, and other services for activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets. Any clues of illegal activities should be reported to the relevant departments in a timely manner, and technical support and assistance should be provided for related investigations and inquiries. Cyberspace, telecommunications, and public security departments should promptly close and handle websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets based on clues transferred by financial management departments.
(8) Strengthening the registration and advertising management of business entities. Market regulation departments should strengthen the registration and management of business entities. The registered names and business scopes of enterprises and individual businesses must not contain terms or content such as "virtual currency," "virtual assets," "cryptocurrency," "crypto assets," "stablecoin," "tokenization of real-world assets," "RWA," etc. Market regulation departments, together with financial management departments, should strengthen the regulation of advertisements related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in accordance with the law, and promptly investigate and deal with related illegal advertisements.
(9) Continuing to rectify virtual currency "mining" activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, will strictly control virtual currency "mining" activities and continue to promote the rectification of virtual currency "mining" activities. Provincial-level people's governments are fully responsible for the rectification of "mining" activities within their administrative regions, in accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments' "Notice on Rectifying Virtual Currency 'Mining' Activities" (Fa Gai Yun [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," comprehensively sorting out and shutting down existing virtual currency "mining" projects, strictly prohibiting the establishment of new "mining" projects, and prohibiting "mining machine" manufacturers from providing various services such as "mining machine" sales within the territory.
(10) Severely cracking down on related illegal financial activities. Upon discovering clues related to illegal financial activities involving virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial management departments, branches and dispatched agencies of the State Council's financial management departments, and other relevant departments should promptly investigate, identify, and properly handle the situation according to the law, and seriously pursue the legal responsibilities of relevant units and individuals, transferring cases suspected of criminal activity to judicial authorities for handling.
(11) Severely cracking down on related illegal and criminal activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Financial Regulatory Bureau, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and other departments, as well as judicial and prosecutorial authorities, should severely crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other activities, as well as related illegal and criminal activities conducted under the guise of virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets.
(12) Strengthening industry self-discipline management. Relevant industry associations should strengthen member management and policy promotion, based on their responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and impose penalties on member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules in accordance with relevant self-discipline management regulations. Conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets based on various industry infrastructures, and timely transfer clues of issues to relevant departments.
IV. Strict Regulation of Domestic Entities Engaging in Related Businesses Abroad
(13) Without the consent of the relevant departments in accordance with laws and regulations, domestic entities and their controlled foreign entities must not issue virtual currencies abroad.
(14) Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in the tokenization of real-world assets abroad in the form of foreign debt, or conducting asset securitization-like tokenization of real-world assets based on domestic asset ownership, income rights, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as domestic rights), should be strictly regulated by the National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments according to the principle of "same business, same risk, same rules." For other forms of tokenization of real-world assets conducted abroad based on domestic rights, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, will regulate according to their responsibilities. No unit or individual may engage in the aforementioned businesses without the consent, filing, etc., of the relevant departments.
(15) The overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing services related to the tokenization of real-world assets abroad must do so in a legally prudent manner, equipped with professional personnel and systems, effectively preventing business risks, strictly implementing customer access, suitability management, anti-money laundering, and other requirements, and integrating into the compliance risk management system of domestic financial institutions. Intermediary institutions and information technology service institutions providing services for domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in the tokenization of real-world assets abroad in the form of foreign debt, or conducting related businesses based on domestic rights abroad, must strictly comply with legal regulations, establish and improve relevant compliance internal control systems according to relevant normative requirements, and strengthen business and risk management, reporting the status of relevant business activities to the relevant management departments for approval or filing.
V. Strengthening Organizational Implementation
(16) Strengthening organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions must attach great importance to the risk prevention work related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, and form a long-term working mechanism of central coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibility. Maintain a high-pressure stance, dynamically monitor risks, effectively and orderly prevent and resolve risks, and legally protect the property safety of the people, while fully maintaining economic and financial order and social stability.
(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should fully utilize various media and communication channels to promote the illegality, harmfulness, and manifestations of virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets through legal policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and investment risk education, fully alerting to potential risks and enhancing the public's risk prevention awareness and identification ability.
VI. Legal Responsibilities
(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in violation of the provisions of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued according to law. Domestic units and individuals who knowingly or should have known that foreign entities are illegally providing virtual currency and tokenization of real-world assets services to domestic entities and still assist them shall be held legally responsible; if a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be pursued according to law.
(19) Any unit or individual investing in virtual currencies, tokens of real-world assets, and related financial products, in violation of public order and good morals, shall have their relevant civil legal actions deemed invalid, and any losses incurred shall be borne by themselves; those suspected of disrupting financial order and endangering financial security shall be investigated and dealt with by relevant departments in accordance with the law.
This notice shall take effect from the date of publication. The "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yin Fa [2021] No. 237) issued by the People's Bank of China and ten other departments is simultaneously abolished.
People's Bank of China
National Development and Reform Commission
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Ministry of Public Security
State Administration for Market Regulation
Financial Regulatory Bureau
China Securities Regulatory Commission
State Administration of Foreign Exchange
February 6, 2026
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