Seven departments issue "Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Activities related to Virtual Currency and other activities"

On December 5th, the China Internet Finance Association and seven other departments issued a "Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Activities Related to Virtual Currency", mentioning that members are not allowed to participate in the issuance and trading activities of virtual currency and real-world asset token in China, and are not allowed to provide related services for the issuance and trading of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens for customers in China. Banking and payment institution members are not allowed to provide services for activities related to the issuance and trading of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens in China, and are not allowed to provide any form of financial services and credit support for virtual currency "mining" enterprises and projects. They must strictly conduct customer due diligence, timely assess whether there are risks of virtual currency or real-world asset token trading or money laundering, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, take measures according to procedures when suspicious clues are found, and report to relevant departments. The original text is as follows: Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Activities Related to Virtual Currency Recently, concepts related to virtual currency have been rapidly heating up, and some lawbreakers have taken the opportunity to hype trading speculation activities, engaging in illegal fund-raising, pyramid schemes, and other illegal activities under the guise of stable coins, air coins (such as coins), real-world asset (RWA) tokens, and "mining", and using virtual currency to transfer illegally obtained proceeds, seriously infringing on the property security of the public and disrupting the normal order of economic and financial systems. In order to further implement the requirements of the People's Bank of China, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and other departments released the "Announcement on Preventing Risks of Token Issuance Financing" and the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks of Speculation in Virtual Currency Trading", and implement the spirit of the coordination mechanism meeting on cracking down on virtual currency trading speculation, the China Internet Finance Association, the Bank Of China Industry Association, the China Securities Industry Association, the China Securities Investment Fund Industry Association, the China Futures Industry Association, the China Listed Companies Association, and the China Payment and Clearing Association jointly issue the following risk warning: I. Correctly understand the essential nature of virtual currency, real-world asset tokens, and related activities Virtual currency is not issued by monetary authorities, is not legal tender, does not have the same legal status as legal tender, and cannot circulate and be used as currency within China. Among them, air coins such as coins lack substantive technological innovation, have no clear commercial application scenarios and value, have opaque issuance and operation mechanisms, serious fraud and market manipulation issues, and are often used for pyramid schemes and fraud under their name. Stable coins currently cannot effectively meet customer identification, anti-money laundering, and other requirements, and there are risks of being used for money laundering, illegal fund-raising, and illegal cross-border fund transfers. The tokenization of real-world assets involves financing and trading activities by issuing tokens (tokens) or other equity and debt securities with token (token) characteristics, which involve multiple risks, including false asset risks, business failure risks, speculation risks, etc. At present, Chinese financial management departments have not approved any tokenization activities of real-world assets. Domestic institutions and individuals engaging in activities such as exchanging legal tender for virtual currency, issuing and financing of real-world asset tokens are suspected of engaging in illegal financial activities such as selling token securities, illegal fund-raising, unauthorized public issuance of securities, and illegal futures operations. Overseas virtual currency and real-world asset token service providers directly or indirectly provide services to engage in related business activities in China, which also constitutes illegal financial activities. Domestic institutions and individuals who knowingly or should know that their domestic employees are engaged in virtual currency-related business activities continue to provide services to them will be held legally liable. II. Relevant institutions shall not engage in businesses related to virtual currency, real-world asset tokens Members are not allowed to participate in the issuance and trading activities of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens in China, and are not allowed to provide related services for customers in China to issue and trade virtual currency and real-world asset tokens directly or indirectly. Banking and payment institution members are not allowed to provide services for activities related to the issuance and trading of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens in China, and are not allowed to provide any form of financial services and credit support for virtual currency "mining" enterprises and projects. They must conduct customer due diligence rigorously, assess in a timely manner whether there is a risk of virtual currency and real-world asset token trading or money laundering, ensure that their operations comply with regulatory requirements, take measures according to procedures when suspicious clues are found, and report to relevant departments. Securities, fund, and futures institutions' members are not allowed to provide services for activities related to the issuance and trading of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens and related financial products in China. Internet platform enterprise members are not allowed to provide any form of marketing, promotional, information technology, or other services for activities related to the issuance and trading of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens in China, and must effectively conduct compliance checks on platform information releases. Members should conduct multi-dimensional risk warnings and awareness education on virtual currency and real-world asset tokens to remind the public to distinguish risks, stay away from illegal activities. III. The general public should be highly vigilant towards various forms of virtual currency and real-world asset token business activities The prices of virtual currency fluctuate greatly and are often used for speculative and fraudulent activities. The public should enhance their risk awareness and identification capabilities, protect their financial security, avoid participating in activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokens, as well as illegal fund-raising and unauthorized issuance of securities activities under the guise of virtual currency "mining". Stay away from virtual currency and real-world asset tokens to avoid involvement in related illegal and criminal activities, be cautious of joining social groups promoting virtual currency and real-world asset token business activities, be wary of false propaganda containing historical returns, buying and selling recommendations, or speculative prospects of virtual currency and real-world asset tokens, and refuse to click on links or scan QR codes of overseas virtual currency and real-world asset token trading platforms. If any clues related to activities involving virtual currency and real-world asset tokens are found, timely report to relevant regulatory authorities, and report to the public security authorities in case of suspected illegal activities. China Internet Finance Association Bank Of China Industry Association China Securities Industry Association China Securities Investment Fund Industry Association China Futures Industry Association China Listed Companies Association China Payment Clearing Association December 5, 2025 This article is excerpted from the "China Internet Finance Association Official Website" and edited by GMTEight: Xu Wenqiang.