Legal Crypto in China 2025: What's Allowed, What's Not, and How People Adapt

When it comes to legal crypto China 2025, the official stance remains a strict ban on trading, mining, and crypto-related financial services. Also known as China cryptocurrency prohibition, this policy hasn’t changed since 2021—but the reality on the ground is very different. While banks and exchanges are blocked, millions of Chinese citizens still use Bitcoin and stablecoins through peer-to-peer networks, encrypted apps, and cash-based deals. The government hasn’t stopped crypto—it just forced it underground.

Here’s what’s still illegal: any platform offering crypto-to-fiat trading, mining farms using grid electricity, or services that let you convert digital assets into yuan. The crypto mining China, once the world’s largest industry, is now restricted to state-approved zones with strict power limits. Also known as state-controlled mining, these operations are rare, tightly monitored, and mostly run by large corporations with political ties. Meanwhile, P2P crypto China, the unofficial backbone of crypto use in the country. Also known as over-the-counter crypto, this is how ordinary people buy Bitcoin with WeChat Pay, trade USDT in person at cafes, or use QR codes to send value across borders without touching a regulated exchange. It’s not perfect—there are scams, price gaps, and risks—but it works. And it’s growing.

What’s surprising is what’s allowed: holding crypto privately, using it for cross-border remittances through informal channels, and buying tokenized assets overseas if you can access them. Many Chinese investors now use foreign wallets, non-KYC platforms, and decentralized tools to keep their assets safe. The government doesn’t track individual holdings—but it does crack down hard on anyone running a business around crypto. That’s the line: personal use? Tolerated. Commercial activity? Illegal.

If you’re wondering how people survive under these rules, the answer is simple: they adapt. They use cash, they use trust, they use tech that doesn’t leave a paper trail. And in 2025, that’s not rebellion—it’s routine. Below, you’ll find real stories, practical guides, and hard data on how crypto keeps moving in China—even when the law says it shouldn’t.