PBOC Crypto Rules: What China's Central Bank Really Bans and Allows

When you hear PBOC crypto rules, the regulatory framework set by the People's Bank of China to control digital currency use within the country. Also known as China's cryptocurrency ban, it doesn't just restrict trading—it reshapes how money moves in the world's second-largest economy. Unlike the U.S. or EU, China doesn't just regulate crypto—it removes it from the public financial system entirely. The PBOC, China’s central bank, banned all crypto exchanges and trading platforms in 2021, then cracked down on mining operations in 2022. But here’s the twist: while Bitcoin and Ethereum are blocked, the PBOC launched its own digital currency, the digital yuan (e-CNY), and quietly encourages private blockchain tech for supply chains and government use.

So what’s actually illegal? Buying Bitcoin through Binance or Huobi? Illegal. Mining with GPU rigs in Sichuan? Illegal. Using a VPN to access crypto apps? Still illegal, and increasingly risky. But building a blockchain-based logistics tracker for a state-owned factory? Not only legal—it’s encouraged. The PBOC doesn’t hate blockchain. It just hates decentralized money. That’s why you’ll see posts here about China crypto VPN risks, the legal dangers of bypassing China’s internet controls to access crypto platforms, or how Pakistan’s crypto adoption, a surge in digital currency use driven by unstable local banking and remittance needs stands in direct contrast to China’s top-down control. The PBOC’s rules aren’t about technology—they’re about control. And that’s why the posts below don’t talk about price charts. They talk about what happens when a government decides your money can’t be yours.

What you’ll find here isn’t speculation. It’s real cases: traders caught using crypto, companies fined for facilitating access, and the quiet rise of China’s own digital currency. You’ll see how the PBOC’s rules force innovation underground, how people adapt, and why projects like real estate RWA tokenization, using blockchain to divide property ownership into digital tokens still move forward in China’s gray zones. This isn’t about getting rich off meme coins. It’s about understanding power—how a central bank can erase a market overnight, and what survives when the rules are this strict.