Cryptos are not allowed in China. For years, the Asian giant has had a policy of repression or even banning activities linked to these assets. This strategy resonates with certain Chinese jurists. This suggests that China’s hostility towards cryptos still has many days ahead of it.
Chinese lawyers call for tightening the noose against crypto
Recently, the Legal Daily, the official legal publication of the Chinese state which has appeared since 1957, spoke about cryptocurrency. He was concerned about the exploitation of the latter as a clandestine means of carrying out acts of corruption.
The Chinese legal journal has indeed underlined the need for rigorous crypto crackdown, conveying in some way the position of the Chinese government on these assets. This, in line with the fight against new forms of corruption emerging in the country.
The number of 1er January of Legal Daily contains a comment by Zhao Xuejun, associate professor at the Faculty of Law of Hebei University. In this publication, obviously supervised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the academic asserts that cryptos have become “hidden channels” for corruption.
Zhao Xuejun highlights the ease with which cryptos and other digital assets, stored in security devices, “cold storage”, are transportable abroad. This, in order to be exchanged or refunded. Mo Hongxian, a professor at Wuhan University Law School, somewhat supports this view.
The expert explicitly cited bitcoin (BTC), specifying that the anonymity and complex traceability of cryptos inherently facilitate illegal and criminal activities. In fact, Mo Hongxian insisted that transactions involving virtual currencies must require judicial attention.
The Legal Daily article, an apology for crypto repression in China?
The general idea conveyed by the Legal Daily article is the need to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework. The objective is to fight against new manifestations of corruption in China.
Basically, it calls for broadening the scope of corruption offenses. He also wants increased oversight in areas likely to see emerging forms of corruption, including cryptos.
It should be noted that this call comes following a recent warning from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. These two state agencies alerted officials against using the stablecoin Tether as an intermediary in foreign exchange transactions involving the yuan, deeming such actions illegal.
Interestingly, despite its strict stance towards cryptos, China has adopted blockchain technology for identity verification purposes. In addition, the central bank digital currency e-CNY, which is still in its pilot phase, has seen notable development.
By June 2023, digital yuan transactions, although geographically limited, had already exceeded $250 billion in China. These digital assets have also extended to international merchandise sales. All of this reveals a dichotomy in China’s approach to cryptos and their underlying technologies.
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