Review of Significant Events in Crypto Assets Regulation in Mainland China in 2024

December: The central bank releases the financial stability report, mentioning the development of global Crypto Assets for the first time.

The central bank focused on the recovery of the Crypto Assets market and global development trends in the "2024 China Financial Stability Report," with particular emphasis on Hong Kong's practices in this area. The report repeatedly mentions concerns about global stablecoins and objectively comments on the legislative practices of various countries and government organizations in the regulation of Crypto Assets.

It is noteworthy that an advertisement for a Crypto Assets fund appeared on the homepage of Alipay, attracting widespread attention. The fund promotes itself with the slogan "Global Investment, Starting from 10 Yuan," and indirectly associates with crypto assets by investing in specific ETFs, with a daily purchase limit of 1000 Yuan per person.

November: Senior officials of the Securities Regulatory Commission were expelled for involvement in virtual currency trading.

The former head of the Science and Technology Supervision Bureau of the China Securities Regulatory Commission was expelled from the Party and public office due to serious violations of discipline and law, and was handed over to judicial authorities for handling. He abused his power for personal gain, used virtual currency for power-for-money transactions, and was involved in multiple disciplinary violations. As one of the pioneers of central bank digital currency, this individual had previously participated in financial technology and Crypto Assets research.

In the same month, the Shanghai High Court published an article stating that the Songjiang District Court concluded a case involving a virtual currency issuance financing contract dispute, deeming the token issuance financing as illegal public financing behavior, and the relevant agreements invalid. The article pointed out that virtual currencies have property attributes, but their related business activities are subject to strict restrictions, and there is a continuous crackdown on virtual currency trading and speculation.

October: The First Blockchain Event Coordinated between Mainland and Hong Kong Launches

The 2024 Web3.0 Innovation Competition has been 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, promoting deep cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong in the field of innovation. Through a global platform, it aims to drive Web3.0 technology innovation and industrial ecosystem development, empowering technological breakthroughs and application scenarios in the Crypto Assets industry, and helping Shanghai enhance its industrial competitiveness and influence.

September: Call for Standardizing the Judicial Disposal of Virtual Currency

The China Court Daily published an article pointing out that the judicial disposal of virtual currency faces challenges such as ownership identification, value assessment, and legal realization. The article suggests the issuance of comprehensive guidelines to clarify the legal status, compliance requirements, and disposal procedures of virtual currency, ensuring 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.

In addition, the former Vice Minister of Finance emphasized at the Tsinghua Wudaokou Forum that the digital economy is key to global development, and Crypto Assets are crucial to the digital economy. He called on China to face the issues directly and actively participate in the global development of digital currency.

August: Virtual Assets Included in Judicial Interpretation of Money Laundering Criminal Cases

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

In the same month, the first domestic renewable energy charging pile RWA project was launched, completing a financing of 100 million yuan, opening up a new compliant path for the integration of traditional assets and the digital economy.

June: Shanghai Releases Web3.0 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Report

The "2024 Shanghai Web3.0 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Research Report" points out that Web3.0 is crucial for the information technology industry, and 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 sector. 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 innovative development.

February: Progress of the Inner Mongolia Virtual Currency Ponzi Scheme Case

The Yuanbao Mountain District Public Security Bureau continues to advance the "Fox Hunt" special operation, successfully persuading two suspects of economic crimes to surrender. In 2022, the bureau cracked a pyramid scheme case involving a virtual currency platform with a case amount of 2 billion yuan. After extensive investigation and inter-regional cooperation, the measures taken ultimately led to the surrender of two fugitives. The case is still under further investigation, and the police warn the fugitives to surrender as soon as possible.

January: Seven Departments Jointly Promote the Innovative Development of Future Industries

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments jointly released the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Innovation and Development of Future Industries," emphasizing the exploration of blockchain as the core technology and data as the key element to build next-generation Internet innovative applications and digital ecology. The document encourages accelerating software product research and development in areas such as new generation mobile information networks and brain-like intelligence, promoting the demonstration and application of new products, and stimulating the potential of information services.