China PBOC Virtual Currency and RWA Notice No. 42 [2026]

China’s PBOC-led Notice No. 42, formally issued as Yin Fa [2026] No. 42, is a mainland China regulatory notice in force from February 6, 2026. Issued by the People’s Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, it supersedes the 2021 PBOC-led virtual-currency trading-speculation notice and expands the framework to cover real-world asset tokenization and RMB-pegged stablecoins.

What Notice No. 42 covers

The notice maintains China’s prohibition-oriented policy for virtual-currency business activity. It states that Bitcoin, Ether, Tether and similar virtual currencies are not issued by monetary authorities, do not have legal-tender status, and should not circulate or be used as currency in the market. It also characterizes covered virtual-currency business activity in mainland China as illegal financial activity, including fiat-to-virtual-currency exchange, exchange between virtual currencies, central-counterparty trading, information intermediation, pricing services, token issuance financing, and trading in virtual-currency-related financial products.

The notice also bars overseas entities and individuals from unlawfully providing virtual-currency-related services to mainland domestic subjects. That makes it relevant to mainland exchanges and intermediaries, offshore platforms, marketing channels, payment routes, technical support arrangements, and domestic persons that knowingly assist offshore providers.

Stablecoins, RWA tokenization and offshore activity

Notice No. 42 adds express treatment for fiat-linked stablecoins. It states that stablecoins pegged to legal tender can perform some monetary functions in circulation and use, and provides that no domestic or overseas entity or individual may issue RMB-pegged stablecoins offshore without agreement from the relevant authorities.

The notice also defines real-world asset tokenization as using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology to convert ownership rights, income rights, other token-like rights, or debt certificates into tokens for issuance and trading. RWA tokenization in mainland China, and related intermediary or information-technology services, are treated as illegal financial activity unless approved by a competent business authority and conducted through specified financial infrastructure. Overseas persons are also barred from unlawfully providing RWA-tokenization services to mainland domestic subjects.

For outbound activity, domestic Chinese subjects and overseas entities they control may not issue virtual currency offshore without regulatory agreement. Domestic subjects directly or indirectly conducting certain offshore RWA-tokenization businesses, including foreign-debt-style activity and asset-backed or equity-like tokenization based on domestic rights, are subject to strict regulation by authorities including the NDRC, CSRC, and SAFE.

Operational controls and enforcement architecture

The notice sets out a central-local operating model. PBOC and other central agencies coordinate virtual-currency risk prevention and disposal, while CSRC and other agencies coordinate RWA-tokenization risk work. Provincial governments are responsible for implementation in their administrative areas through local financial regulators and related agencies.

• Financial institutions and non-bank payment institutions may not provide account opening, transfers, clearing, settlement, collateral, insurance, or related financial-product services for covered virtual-currency activity.
• Internet companies may not provide online business venues, commercial display, marketing, or paid traffic for virtual-currency or RWA-tokenization business activity.
• Market regulators are directed to control business-registration wording and advertising connected to virtual currency, crypto assets, stablecoins, RWA, and related terms.
• NDRC and provincial governments are directed to continue rectifying virtual-currency mining, including shutdown of existing projects, prohibition of new projects, and restrictions on domestic miner sales services.

Status and relationship to earlier policy

Notice No. 42 took effect on publication and expressly repealed Yin Fa [2021] No. 237. The CSRC/PBOC Q&A describes the notice as a revision formed after earlier policy experience and new risk conditions. For legal-reference purposes, this profile treats it as agency guidance rather than a statute or parliamentary act, with current status marked “In force” as of June 6, 2026.

Why it matters for crypto-law tracking

Notice No. 42 is a durable reference point because it consolidates China’s restrictive treatment of virtual-currency business activity while adding newer categories, especially RMB-pegged stablecoins and RWA tokenization. It also maps responsibilities across central regulators, courts and prosecutors, internet authorities, police, market regulators, industry associations, and provincial governments. This page is a legal-reference summary and does not provide legal, tax, investment, trading, or compliance advice.