Can Businesses in China Accept Crypto Legally in 2025?

As of 2025, businesses in mainland China cannot legally accept cryptocurrency under any circumstances. It’s not just discouraged-it’s a criminal offense. Whether you’re running a small online store in Shanghai, a restaurant in Guangzhou, or a tech startup in Shenzhen, accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other digital asset as payment puts you at serious legal risk.

It’s Not a Gray Area-It’s a Total Ban

China’s stance on cryptocurrency has evolved from strict regulation to outright prohibition. The turning point came on May 30, 2025, when new legislation made personal ownership of cryptocurrencies illegal. That means holding Bitcoin in a wallet, even for personal use, is now a crime. For businesses, this isn’t just about payments-it’s about possession. If you accept crypto, even once, you’re technically in possession of an illegal asset.

This isn’t a minor policy tweak. It’s the final step in a decade-long campaign to eliminate private digital currencies from China’s financial system. The government’s goal is clear: protect the dominance of the digital yuan, China’s state-controlled central bank digital currency. The digital yuan gives authorities full visibility into every transaction. Cryptocurrencies don’t. That’s why they had to go.

What Exactly Is Banned?

The 2025 ban covers every possible way a business could interact with cryptocurrency:

• Accepting crypto as payment for goods or services
• Using crypto to pay employees or suppliers
• Storing crypto in any business wallet or account
• Offering crypto trading or exchange services
• Even advertising that you accept crypto

Financial institutions-banks, payment processors, fintech apps-are required to monitor all transactions for signs of crypto activity. If a business account shows even a single transfer linked to a crypto exchange, it triggers an automatic alert. The Ministry of Public Security and the People’s Bank of China work together to track these transactions. There’s no loophole. No exception. No grace period.

What Happens If You Try?

The consequences aren’t fines or warnings. They’re criminal charges. Since 2024, authorities have been making arrests for unlicensed crypto activity. By 2025, those arrests became more frequent, and penalties grew harsher. Businesses found accepting crypto can face:

• Immediate shutdown of operations
• Freezing of bank accounts and business assets
• Fines reaching hundreds of thousands of yuan
• Criminal prosecution for executives
• Blacklisting from future business licensing

There’s no “first offense” rule. Authorities treat any crypto-related activity as intentional financial crime. Even if you didn’t know the law changed, ignorance isn’t a defense. The government assumes all businesses should know.

What About Hong Kong?

Hong Kong operates under a different legal system. While mainland China bans crypto, Hong Kong has built a regulated framework for digital assets. Exchanges can get licenses. Stablecoins are being reviewed. Institutional investors can trade legally. But here’s the key: this does not extend to mainland China.

Some businesses think they can use Hong Kong as a workaround-like accepting crypto through a Hong Kong entity and transferring funds to a mainland account. That doesn’t work. The People’s Bank of China monitors cross-border fund flows. Any movement tied to crypto, even indirectly, gets flagged. The mainland’s surveillance system is designed to block exactly this kind of maneuver.

The Digital Yuan Is the Only Option

China isn’t trying to ban crypto to stifle innovation. It’s trying to replace it. The digital yuan (e-CNY) is the only legally recognized digital currency in China. It’s already being rolled out across cities, used for public transit, government payments, and retail purchases. Businesses are being pushed-sometimes forced-to adopt it.

Unlike crypto, the digital yuan is:

• Issued and backed by the central bank
• Traceable by authorities
• Integrated with existing banking and tax systems
• Accepted everywhere-online and offline

There’s no downside for businesses using it. No legal risk. No monitoring headaches. It just works. And because the government controls it, they can even set spending limits, track usage patterns, and encourage certain behaviors-like spending during holidays or in specific regions.

How This Compares to the Rest of the World

While China shuts down crypto, other countries are building rules around it. The U.S. is moving toward clearer regulations. Singapore has licensed exchanges. South Korea allows crypto trading under strict oversight. Even small nations like Bahrain and the UAE are welcoming crypto businesses with proper licensing.

China’s approach is the opposite. It’s not about regulating risk-it’s about eliminating competition. The government sees decentralized money as a threat to its control over the economy. That’s why they didn’t just ban trading or mining-they banned ownership.

What Should Businesses Do Instead?

If you’re a business operating in mainland China, your only legal digital payment option is the digital yuan. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Register for a digital yuan merchant account through your bank or an approved payment provider
2. Integrate the digital yuan payment gateway into your website or POS system
3. Train staff to handle digital yuan transactions
4. Stop any crypto-related advertising or payment options immediately
5. Review your accounting system to ensure no crypto entries remain

There’s no middle ground. No gray area. No way to “test the waters.” If you’re accepting crypto in China in 2025, you’re already breaking the law.

Is There Any Hope for Change?

Don’t expect a reversal. The 2025 law wasn’t an emergency measure-it was the endpoint of a ten-year plan. The infrastructure to monitor and enforce this ban is already in place. The digital yuan is expanding. The government has no incentive to reopen the door to crypto.

Even if global crypto markets grow, China will stay isolated from them. The goal isn’t to catch up with the world-it’s to build a completely separate financial system, one where the state has total control. Businesses that understand this will survive. Those that try to fight it won’t.