Asia/CN/Comparables
Mainland China
People’s Bank of China and co-signatory ministries
The inverse of every other file on this map. Mainland China treats virtual-currency business activity as illegal financial activity. The 2021 PBOC-led notice said so; the 6 February 2026 successor (Yin Fa [2026] No. 42) continues the prohibition, expands it to RMB-pegged stablecoins and RWA tokenisation, and repeals the 2021 text. There is no analogue to Rules 100–500. There is a wall.
2021 notice
Repealed
Notice 42
6 Feb 2026
Offering path
None
Similar regulation
The statute book
Primary instruments, with the RCA job each one actually does. Links open the official text.
- In force
Prohibition — the inverse of an offering exemption
Translation
Rule 100–500 map
| RCA | Peer | Fit | Desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule 100 CIC | Virtual currency has no legal-tender status and is not a permitted business object | Inverse | No Howey wrapping because there is no lawful issuance business. |
| Rule 103 disclosure | None — activity is prohibited | Inverse | No white paper path. |
| Rule 200 $5M | None | Inverse | No startup exemption from a ban. |
| Rule 300 fundraising | Virtual-currency issuance and intermediation treated as illegal financial activity | Inverse | The opposite policy of Rule 300. |
| Rule 400 safe harbor | None | Inverse | No off-ramp from a prohibited activity. |
| Rule 500 preemption | National prohibition; Hong Kong is a different statute book | No analogue | Cap. 656 and the SFC VATP regime are not a mainland exemption. |
Analysis
What the file is
The 24 September 2021 multi-agency notice (Yin Fa [2021] No. 237) classified virtual-currency business activity as illegal financial activity and is the document most US counsel still have in the stack. On 6 February 2026 the PBOC and seven other authorities issued Notice No. 42, which took effect on publication, expressly repealed the 2021 notice, and extended the restrictive perimeter to RMB-pegged stablecoins, real-world-asset tokenisation, mining, and offshore issuance by domestic entities. The e-CNY remains the state’s digital currency. Private tokens remain off the table as a mainland business.
Research
The record
- Notice 42 is agency guidance with multi-ministry signature, not a People’s Congress statute. The operational fact is the same: no lawful mainland VASP or issuance business.
- RWA tokenisation and RMB stablecoins are named so that ‘we tokenised a warehouse receipt’ and ‘we issued a yuan coin offshore for mainland users’ do not become workarounds.
- Mining remains in the restrictive perimeter. Hash-rate geography is not an offering comment.
Ideation
What to file
- Use China as the substitution bound in Section IV: if RCA is unusable, US issuers go to MiCA, VARA, Bermuda, Hong Kong — they do not go to Shanghai. The economic analysis should say that.
- If you have mainland users in the distribution, the honest comment is about geo-blocking and BSA/sanctions, not about a NOR.
Analysis
What the file is
The 24 September 2021 multi-agency notice (Yin Fa [2021] No. 237) classified virtual-currency business activity as illegal financial activity and is the document most US counsel still have in the stack. On 6 February 2026 the PBOC and seven other authorities issued Notice No. 42, which took effect on publication, expressly repealed the 2021 notice, and extended the restrictive perimeter to RMB-pegged stablecoins, real-world-asset tokenisation, mining, and offshore issuance by domestic entities. The e-CNY remains the state’s digital currency. Private tokens remain off the table as a mainland business.
Primary sources on file
PBOC-led Notice Yin Fa [2026] No. 42 — virtual currency, RMB stablecoins and RWA tokenisation
People’s Bank of China and co-signatory authorities/6 Feb 2026/RCA review 10 Sept 2026
Primary regulatory
RCA publishes source-linked intelligence for professionals. Nothing here is a token-buying call, a legal opinion, or an “approved / safe / regulated” badge. Every material claim is dated. Incomplete files stay incomplete.