The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, the hype of virtual currency transactions has been on the rise, disrupting the economic and financial order, breeding illegal and criminal activities such as gambling, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes, and money laundering, and seriously endangering the property safety of the people. In order to further prevent and deal with the risk of speculation in virtual currency transactions and effectively maintain national security and social stability, in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks, the Securities Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Network Security of the People's Republic of China "Regulations on Telecommunications of the People's Republic of China", "Regulations on Prevention and Handling of Illegal Fund-raising", "Regulations on the Administration of Futures Trading", "Decisions of the State Council on Cleaning Up and Rectifying Various Local Trading Places to Effectively Prevent Financial Risks", "General Office of the State Council on Cleaning Up and Rectifying Various Transactions" "Implementation Opinions on Sites" and other provisions, the relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:
1. Clarify the essential attributes of virtual currency and related business activities
(1) Virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal tender. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and other virtual currencies have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed accounts or similar technologies, and existing in digital form. For circulation use.
(2) Business activities related to virtual currency are illegal financial activities. Carry out legal currency and virtual currency exchange business, exchange business between virtual currencies, buy and sell virtual currency as a central counterparty, provide information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and virtual currency derivatives transactions, etc. Business activities involving illegal sale of tokens and coupons, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal futures business, illegal fund-raising and other illegal financial activities are strictly prohibited and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Those who carry out relevant illegal financial activities that constitute crimes shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.
(3) The provision of services by overseas virtual currency exchanges to residents in my country through the Internet is also an illegal financial activity. For the domestic staff of the relevant overseas virtual currency exchanges, as well as legal persons, unincorporated organizations and natural persons who know or should know that they are engaged in virtual currency-related businesses, but still provide them with services such as marketing, payment and settlement, and technical support, the relevant legal persons shall be prosecuted in accordance with the law. responsibility.
(4) There are legal risks in participating in virtual currency investment and trading activities. If any legal person, unincorporated organization or natural person invests in virtual currency and related derivatives, which violates public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal act is invalid, and the losses caused by it shall be borne by itself; if it is suspected of disrupting financial order and endangering financial security, relevant departments shall Investigate.
2. Establish and improve the working mechanism to deal with the risk of speculation in virtual currency transactions
(5) Departmental coordination and linkage. The People's Bank of China, together with the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, have established a work coordination mechanism to jointly resolve major issues in the work. problems, supervise and guide all regions to carry out work according to the unified deployment.
(6) Strengthen territorial implementation. All provincial people's governments are responsible for preventing and dealing with the risks related to virtual currency transaction speculation within their administrative regions, led by the local financial supervision department, and participated by branches of the financial management department of the State Council, as well as departments in charge of network information, telecommunications, public security, and market supervision. Establish a normalized working mechanism, coordinate and mobilize resources, actively prevent and properly handle issues related to virtual currency transaction speculation, and maintain economic and financial order and social harmony and stability.
3. Strengthen the risk monitoring and early warning of virtual currency trading speculation
(7) Comprehensive monitoring and early warning. Provincial people's governments give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms, combining online monitoring and offline investigations to improve the accuracy and efficiency of identifying and discovering virtual currency trading speculation activities. The People's Bank of China, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and other departments continue to improve the technical means of monitoring encrypted assets to realize the full-chain tracking and full-time information backup of virtual currency "mining", trading, and exchange. The financial management department guides financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions to strengthen the monitoring of funds involved in virtual currency transactions.
(8) Establish an information sharing and rapid response mechanism. Under the leadership of the provincial people's governments, local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches of the financial management department of the State Council, cybersecurity and informatization departments, and public security agencies, will strengthen the effective connection of online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund monitoring, and establish virtual currency transaction speculation information sharing and cross-validation mechanism, as well as early warning information transmission, verification, and rapid response mechanism for disposal.
4. Build a multi-dimensional and multi-level risk prevention and disposal system
(9) Financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions shall not provide services for virtual currency-related business activities. Financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions shall not provide services such as account opening, fund transfer, clearing and settlement for virtual currency-related business activities, shall not include virtual currency in the scope of collateral, and shall not carry out insurance business related to virtual currency or use virtual currency Currency is included in the scope of insurance liability, and clues to violations of laws and regulations should be reported to relevant departments in a timely manner.
(10) Strengthen the management of Internet information content and access related to virtual currency. Internet companies are not allowed to provide services such as online business premises, commercial display, marketing publicity, and payment diversion for virtual currency-related business activities. If they find clues about violations of laws and regulations, they should report to relevant departments in a timely manner, and provide technical support and assistance for relevant investigations and investigations. . According to the clues of the problems transferred by the financial management department, the competent departments of network information and telecommunications shall promptly shut down Internet applications such as websites, mobile applications, and small programs that carry out virtual currency-related business activities in accordance with the law.
(11) Strengthen the registration and advertising management of virtual currency-related market entities. The market supervision department strengthens the registration management of market entities, and the registered names and business scope of enterprises and individual industrial and commercial households must not contain words or content such as "virtual currency", "virtual assets", "encrypted currency" and "encrypted assets". The market supervision department and the financial management department shall strengthen the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency in accordance with the law, and investigate and deal with relevant illegal advertisements in a timely manner.
(12) Severely crack down on illegal financial activities related to virtual currency. After discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency, the local financial supervision department, together with the branches of the financial management department of the State Council and other relevant departments, shall promptly investigate and identify them in accordance with the law, properly handle them, and seriously investigate the legal responsibilities of relevant legal persons, unincorporated organizations and natural persons. If so, it shall be transferred to the judiciary for investigation and punishment according to law.
(13) Severely crack down on criminal activities involving virtual currency. The Ministry of Public Security deploys public security organs across the country to continue to carry out the "Special Action to Combat Money Laundering", "Special Action to Combat Cross-border Gambling" and "Card Breaking Action" to severely crack down on criminal activities such as illegal operations and financial fraud in virtual currency-related business activities in accordance with the law. Criminal activities such as money laundering and gambling carried out by virtual currency, and illegal fundraising and pyramid schemes using virtual currency as a gimmick.
(14) Strengthen industry self-discipline management. China Internet Finance Association, China Payment and Clearing Association, and China Banking Association strengthen member management and policy publicity, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency, and member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules shall be managed in accordance with relevant self-discipline provide for punishment. Relying on various industry infrastructures to carry out risk monitoring of virtual currency trading speculation, and timely transfer clues to relevant departments.
V. Strengthen organization and implementation
(15) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to dealing with the risk of virtual currency trading speculation, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term working mechanism with central overall planning, territorial implementation, integration of divisions, and joint responsibility, maintain a high-pressure situation, and dynamically monitor risks , Take effective measures to prevent and defuse risks, protect the property safety of the people in accordance with the law, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(16) Strengthen policy interpretation and publicity and education. All departments, regions and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to publicize the illegality and harmfulness of virtual currency speculation and other related business activities to the public through legal policy interpretation, typical case analysis, investment risk education, etc. and its manifestations, etc., to enhance the public's awareness of risk prevention.
Central Cyberspace Administration of the People's Bank of China Supreme People's Court
Supreme People's Procuratorate Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Ministry of Public Security
China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
China Securities Regulatory Commission Foreign Exchange Bureau
September 15, 2021
