A prohibition, not a regime
China is the clearest example of the prohibition end of the spectrum. Rather than licensing crypto activity and supervising it, a 2021 notice issued jointly by the central bank and several other agencies characterised virtual-currency business activity as unlawful financial activity, and directed financial and payment institutions not to service it. Mining was addressed separately, moving from tolerated to actively discouraged.
What this means for reading incidents
Because there is no licensing regime, there is no domestic supervisor to publish a register, impose custody requirements or receive incident reports. Where a platform serving users in the mainland is compromised, the recourse questions that apply in registration regimes such as Japan or Singapore simply do not arise in the same form.
Sources
- People's Bank of China, Notice on further preventing and dealing with virtual currency trading speculation (24 Sep 2021)
Not legal or tax advice. This is a summary of published rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; check the primary sources linked above.
Last reviewed by Conisec Staff. Review cadence: Quarterly.