New regulations by eight Chinese government departments: Virtual currency issuance and trading are illegal financial activities; online marketing prohibited starting 9/30

The People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued the "Administrative Measures for Online Marketing of Financial Products" on April 24, which will be implemented starting September 30, 2026. The new regulations explicitly prohibit any institution or individual from providing online marketing services or facilitation for illegal financial activities, with "virtual currency issuance and trading" directly listed as an illegal financial activity. (Previous coverage: The People's Bank of China and 8 other departments reiterate: Comprehensive crackdown on offshore RMB stablecoins; virtual currency is an illegal financial activity) (Background: The People's Bank of China announces a joint operation to "crack down on cryptocurrency trading and speculation": Stablecoins and others are classified as illegal financial activities) China has taken another step in blocking virtual assets. Following the "Document No. 42" issued by 8 departments on February 6, which reclassified virtual currency and RWA as illegal financial activities, the newly released "Administrative Measures for Online Marketing of Financial Products" on April 24 expands the crackdown on "cryptocurrency business" to "marketing channels." This includes crypto platforms, KOLs, advertisers, payment redirection, and in-app recommendations, all of which will now be subject to regulation. Jointly issued by eight major departments, effective from September 30 The "Administrative Measures for Online Marketing of Financial Products" was jointly issued by 8 central departments: the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The measures will be implemented starting September 30, 2026, approximately 5 months from the announcement date, providing a grace period for violators to delist. The core provision is that "no institution or individual shall provide online marketing services or facilitation for illegal financial activities." The regulation also explicitly lists 7 categories of "illegal financial activities": - Illegal fundraising - Illegal securities and futures activities - Illegal absorption of deposits - Illegal lending - Virtual currency issuance and trading - Illegal foreign exchange margin trading - Financial product services provided by overseas institutions to domestic residents without authorization Currently, there is still a gray area for retail investors in China to trade crypto assets through overseas platforms. However, this new regulation expands the scope of the crackdown to include "redirection, payment, recommendations, advertising, and KOL trading signals" within the crypto ecosystem. Even compliant platforms will cross the red line if they accept marketing materials for virtual currency brands.