China is the biggest retail crypto market in the world, with a population of 1411 mln (1) people. However, mining and crypto exchange are banned in the country and have no crypto regulation.
Country overview
#67
ChinaCountry stats
Rating Points
207
This indicator describes the overall rating of a given jurisdiction on several parameters according to cryptocurrency operations - market volume, crypto regulation, business climate, taxation framework.
Crypto Penetration
5.54%
Estimated percentage of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Legal Entities
0
Number of crypto companies registered in the country based on regulator data if available or other types of public data.
Regulation Points
0
An overall assessment of the granularity of crypto regulation in a given country. A high score is also given to countries where cryptocurrency transactions are highly regulated.
Amount of crypto users
78 241 420
Total amount of crypto users out of the country's total population based on public data.
Taxation points
9
This figure, according to our analysts' calculations, indicates the overall level of tax burden for cryptocurrency transactions in a given country. The higher the indicator, the lower the burden.
Market volume points
198
A rough estimate of this jurisdiction's retail crypto market relative to the rest of the world. The higher the indicator, the higher the market potential.
Status of crypto
Ban
General status of cryptocurrency regulation in this jurisdiction.
Crypto payments
Ban
The legal status of cryptocurrency payments for goods and services in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Security Level
Safe place
The overall level of security in a given country based on open data.
Crypto Salaries
Ban
The legal status of cryptocurrency salaries to employers in a given country based on information from regulators, public data and feedback from our community.
Business Climate
No data
Overall assessment of the friendliness of this country for crypto-business. This indicator takes into account the cost of obtaining a license and the attitude towards crypto entities in the country.
Stablecoin Regulation
Ban
This indicator is evaluating the regulation of stablecoins in a given country. Complex regulation means that it is possible to issue steiblcoins and obtain a license for this activity. Basic regulation means that the issuance of stablecoins is possible, but not all legal aspects are defined in the law. Standard regulation means that there is a legal practice of steylcoin circulation in a given country.
Bad Factors
No
This section describes the unfavorable economic factors for crypto-business in a given country. These are countries that are under sanctions or on the FATF grey list and other factors.
Types of licenses
No licenses exist
Good
Medium
Bad
According to our rating, China is a safe place at a security level. Jurisdiction has 74.2 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (2). Homicide level (3) is 0,5 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.
Despite new crypto regulations in Hong Kong, mainland China still saves in power ban on crypto activities, which includes crypto payments.
Despite new crypto regulations in Hong Kong, mainland China still saves in the power ban on crypto activities, which includes crypto salaries.
Currently, crypto operations and mining are banned in China. China’s initial step to regulate crypto-assets came in 2013 when the People’s Bank of China prohibited (4) financial institutions from dealing in Bitcoin or other virtual assets. In 2017, the Chinese government banned initial coin offerings and prohibited crypto-asset exchanges from operating in China. According to CNBC (5), this ban was imposed by a joint statement (6) of 7 local regulators, including the People’s Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Banking Regulatory Commission, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
This forced many exchanges based in China, including Binance, the world's largest exchange, to relocate.
In 2021, the Chinese government banned mining by NRDC circular (7). According to Reuters, ten local regulators have forbidden (8) crypto trading and exchange activity.
Despite the official crypto ban, according to Yahoo.Finance (9) local courts have provided rulings that legalize crypto status as an official legal property for individuals in some court cases. Moreover, the local tax authority has imposed tax regimes for crypto - so a blanked ban on crypto may be canceled, and new regulations for exchange and mining are on the way.
At the same time, Hong Kong has enabled crypto trading in the form of ETFs. Our overview (10) provides more details about crypto regulation in Hong Kong.
| Tax name | Index |
| PIT tax Min | 3 |
| PIT tax Max | 45 |
| Corporate tax (CIT) | 25 |
| Min Individual CGT (for crypto) | 20 |
| Max Individual CGT (for crypto) | 20 |
| Wealth tax Min | 0 |
| Wealth tax Max | 0 |
| Mining tax | Ban |
China doesn’t have a clear crypto tax framework, especially given the country's blanket ban on crypto activities. However, in 2023, the local tax authority (11) imposed a 20% tax on crypto transactions. Based on PWC tax summaries (12), China has a 45% PIT and a 25% CIT rate.
1) China. Wiki
2)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year
3)List of countries by intentional homicide rate
4) China Bans Financial Companies From Bitcoin Transactions. Article
5) China bans companies from raising money through ICOs and asks local regulators to inspect 60 major platforms. Article
6) 中国人民银行 中央网信办 工业和信息化部 工商总局 银监会 证监会 保监会关于防范代币发行融资风险的公告. Article
7) 国家发展改革委等部门关于整治虚拟货币“挖矿”活动的通知. Law
8) China's top regulators ban crypto trading and mining, tumbling bitcoin. Article
9) China court says virtual assets are legally protected as properties. Article
11) China’s Crypto Tax Provides Clear Regulatory Frameworks For Investors And Businesses. Article
12)China, People's Republic of. PWC