Review of Important Events in Cryptocurrency Regulation in Mainland China in 2024

December: The central bank released the financial stability report, focusing for the first time on the development of global Crypto Assets.

The People's Bank of China released the "2024 China Financial Stability Report", which for the first time elaborates in detail on the latest developments in global Crypto Assets and related legislation. The report focuses on the recovery of the Crypto Assets market and global development trends, particularly the practices in Hong Kong in this field. In addition, the report repeatedly mentions the central bank's attention to global stablecoins and objectively comments on the legislative practices of various countries and government organizations regarding the regulation of Crypto Assets.

In the same month, some mainland users discovered that the Alipay homepage featured advertisements for Crypto Assets funds. The advertisement promoted the HuaBao Overseas Technology C Fund, which indirectly associates with Crypto Assets by investing in specific ETFs, with a daily purchase limit of 1000 yuan per person. This phenomenon has attracted widespread attention.

November: Senior Officials Involved in Virtual Currency Cases and New Judicial Interpretations

Yao Qian, the former director of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office due to serious violations of discipline and law, and was handed over to judicial authorities for handling. Yao Qian is accused of abusing his power for personal gain, using virtual currency for power-money transactions, and involving multiple disciplinary violations. As an early participant in central bank digital currency, Yao Qian had deeply engaged in financial technology and Crypto Assets research.

The Shanghai High Court published an article explaining the trial results of a dispute case regarding the issuance and financing contracts of virtual currency. The court held that although the token issuance financing constitutes illegal public financing behavior, the relevant agreements are invalid, but personal possession of virtual currency itself is not illegal. The article pointed out that virtual currencies have property attributes, but their related business activities are subject to strict restrictions.

October: Shanghai Launches Web3.0 Innovation Competition

The 2024 Web3.0 Innovation Competition officially launched in the Xuhui District of Shanghai, marking the first blockchain event that collaborates between the mainland and Hong Kong. The competition focuses on key technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, aiming to promote deep cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong in the field of innovation. Through this global platform, it drives the innovation of Web3.0 technology and the development of the industry ecosystem, empowering technological breakthroughs and application scenarios in the blockchain industry, and helping Shanghai enhance its industrial competitiveness and influence.

September: Call for Regulation of Virtual Currency Judicial Disposal

An article published by the China Court Daily points out that the judicial disposal of virtual currencies faces challenges such as ownership identification, value assessment, and legal monetization. The article suggests the introduction of comprehensive guidelines to clarify the legal status, compliance requirements, and disposal procedures of virtual currencies, in order to ensure a transparent, fair, and secure market environment. It also emphasizes the importance of cross-border regulatory cooperation to promote the healthy development of the digital economy.

Former Vice Minister of Finance Zhu Guangyao delivered a speech at the Tsinghua Wudaokou Forum, emphasizing the key role of the digital economy in global development, particularly against the backdrop of the AI-driven Fourth Industrial Revolution. He pointed out the importance of Crypto Assets to the digital economy and called on China to face relevant issues head-on and actively participate in the development of global digital currency.

August: Judicial Interpretation Incorporates Virtual Assets and RWA Project Implementation

The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering," clarifying that transactions involving "virtual assets" are included as a method of money laundering. It stipulates that the transfer or conversion of criminal proceeds and their income through virtual asset transactions or the exchange of financial assets can be recognized as "concealing or disguising the source and nature of criminal proceeds and their income" as defined by criminal law.

A certain blockchain platform and a certain technology group launched a new energy charging pile RWA project, completing a financing of 100 million RMB, opening up a new compliant path for the integration of traditional assets and the digital economy.

June: Shanghai Releases Web3.0 Industry Report

The "2024 Shanghai Web3.0 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Research Report" has been released, highlighting the importance of Web3.0 to the information technology industry and predicting that RWA (Real World Asset Tokenization) will become a future development trend. The report mentions that as policies and technologies mature, global financial institutions are gradually accepting Web3.0 assets and technologies, with Hong Kong also making significant progress in cross-border payments and the RWA field. Shanghai has advantages in the development of the Web3.0 industry and plans to promote the construction of the Web3.0 ecosystem through policy support and innovation.

February: Progress of Virtual Currency Ponzi Scheme Cases

The Public Security Bureau of Yuanbao Mountain District in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, has continuously promoted the "Fox Hunt" special operation, successfully persuading two suspects of economic crimes to return. In 2022, the bureau cracked a virtual currency platform pyramid scheme case, with an involved amount reaching 2 billion yuan. After extensive investigation and cross-regional cooperation, the two suspects who had fled were finally persuaded to surrender through return measures. The case is still under further investigation.

January: Seven Departments Jointly Promote Future Industry Innovation

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of Future Industries," emphasizing the exploration of blockchain as the core technology and data as the key element, to build the next-generation Internet innovative applications and digital ecosystem. The document proposes to accelerate the research and development of software products aimed at new generation mobile information networks, brain-like intelligence and other fields, encourage the demonstration application of new products, and stimulate the potential of information services.