Seven main Chinese language monetary trade associations collectively issued a danger warning, marking essentially the most complete crypto crackdown for the reason that 2021 ban that drove all crypto exchanges overseas.
The associations cowl banking, securities, funds, futures, cost clearing, listed corporations, and web finance. They said that every one crypto-related enterprise actions, together with stablecoins, airdrops, mining, and, notably, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, are unlawful in China.
The assertion, which was issued on Dec 5, explicitly famous that Chinese language monetary regulators have “not permitted any real-world asset tokenization actions,” marking the primary official prohibition of RWA within the nation.
A researcher defined that the final time this coalition mobilized was September 24, 2021. It was when 10 authorities departments collectively issued the “Discover on Additional Stopping and Disposing of Dangers from Digital Forex Buying and selling Hypothesis.” That motion pressured all cryptocurrency exchanges to exit China and shut down all mining operations. China’s share of world Bitcoin hashrate plummeted from 75%.
This transfer comes as international RWA tokenization surpasses $30 billion in market measurement. Main gamers like BlackRock’s $2 billion BUIDL fund—tokenized by Securitize and accepted as collateral on Binance, Crypto.com, and Deribit—are driving mainstream adoption.
Chinese language regulators seem involved that RWA tokenization might turn out to be a complicated software for capital flight. The mechanism would permit people to transform home property into tokens, switch them to offshore wallets, and change them for overseas forex—all bypassing conventional banking and overseas change controls.
The assertion reemphasized that digital currencies, together with stablecoins and tokens corresponding to Pi coin, lack authorized standing and can’t be circulated in China. People and organizations might not subject, change, or increase funds by way of RWAs or digital currencies inside mainland China. This restriction additionally applies if offshore corporations make use of employees based mostly in China.
The coordinated motion follows the PBoC’s November 28 assembly with prime authorities officers. The authorities declared stablecoins a type of digital forex topic to prosecution.
A December report famous a 37% year-on-year enhance in cash laundering involving digital property, reinforcing the push for strict enforcement.
The seven associations’ joint assertion creates what analysts describe as a “four-layer blockade.” This consists of chopping off mining infrastructure, blocking stablecoin cost channels, sealing RWA pathways, and eliminating fraudulent schemes like Pi Community.
