When China crypto ban, a sweeping government crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining that began in 2021 and intensified through 2025. Also known as China's crypto prohibition, it didn't just restrict coins—it upended the entire global crypto infrastructure. Unlike other countries that tried to regulate crypto slowly, China moved fast: it shut down mining farms, blocked exchanges, and forced platforms like Huobi and OKX to relocate. No warnings. No exceptions. Just a hard stop.
This wasn't just about control. It was about financial sovereignty. The government didn't want citizens bypassing the yuan or using crypto to move money out of the country. So they cut off access to exchanges, banned mining hardware sales, and even pressured banks to freeze crypto-linked accounts. The result? Over 70% of global Bitcoin mining vanished overnight. Miners scattered to Kazakhstan, the U.S., and the Middle East. Exchanges scrambled to get licenses elsewhere. And suddenly, every country with a crypto market had to ask: Are we next? The cryptocurrency regulation, the set of legal rules governments use to control digital assets, often requiring KYC, licensing, and transaction monitoring. Also known as crypto compliance, it became the new global standard after China’s move. South Korea’s $34 billion fine on Upbit, Canada’s $40 million seizure of TradeOgre’s crypto—these weren’t isolated cases. They were copycats. China set the tone: if you don’t verify users, monitor transactions, and follow the rules, you’re out.
The ripple effects are still here. Today, any crypto project claiming to be "China-friendly" is either lying or dead. Airdrops, exchanges, and DeFi apps that tried to hide behind anonymity got crushed—just like LongBit and AnimeSwap, which turned out to be scams. Real projects now have to prove they’re compliant, not just flashy. The crypto exchange shutdown, the forced closure of platforms due to regulatory pressure, often linked to lack of KYC or cross-border legal violations. Also known as exchange takedowns, it’s now a common risk for any platform without local licenses. Even privacy coins like Monero got caught in the crosshairs. If you’re trading crypto today, you’re living in a world China helped create—one where regulation isn’t optional, it’s the price of entry.
What you’ll find below isn’t just news. It’s a map of how China’s move changed everything—from the rise of non-KYC exchanges that got shut down, to the airdrop scams that exploded in the vacuum, to the new compliance standards that now govern every major exchange. No fluff. No hype. Just what actually happened, and how it affects you right now.
Despite China's 2021 crypto ban, peer-to-peer trading continues underground using USDT, VPNs, and encrypted apps. Learn how it works, the risks involved, and why it won't disappear anytime soon.