Bitcoin in China: what is actually allowed
- Status
- Banned
- Currency
- Chinese yuan (CNY)
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-20
Bitcoin access is banned in China
Buying bitcoin in China is banned, and the rules have tightened rather than loosened. The People's Bank of China and nine other agencies outlawed all crypto trading and exchange services in September 2021, and a joint notice of February 2026, widely called Ban 2.0, replaced that document with something stricter: it extends the prohibition to yuan-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, targets marketing and payment support, and declares crypto investment transactions void as against public order, meaning losses fall entirely on the investor. No exchange lawfully serves mainland China and no bank may process crypto payments, so this page explains that reality rather than suggesting ways around it.
Crypto cards available in China
These issuers list China among the countries they will issue to. That is the issuer's own statement of coverage, not advice to hold one, and it does not change the legal position set out above.
Bitcoin wallets available in China
Each wallet below is available in China under its maker's own published policy, which for some is a shipping list and for others only a bar on sanctioned jurisdictions. Listing one is not advice to buy it, and it does not change the legal position set out above: holding your own keys is a separate question from whether trading is permitted.
Hardware devices
- Keystone 3 Pro$149Air-gapped signing on a 4 inch touchscreen, with three security chips and a fingerprint reader, at $149.
- Ledger Flex$249The Ledger to buy if you want a touchscreen: $249, the same certified chip as the Stax, and more screen pixels than it.
- Ledger Nano S Plus$59Ledger's $59 entry device: the same certified secure element as the $399 Stax, no Bluetooth, and no iPhone support at all.
- Ledger Nano X$79The cheapest Ledger with Bluetooth, now $79 on Ledger's own store, and the one to buy if you want to sign from a phone.
- Ledger Stax$399Ledger's $399 flagship, with the biggest screen it sells and exactly the same secure element as the $59 Nano S Plus.
- Tangem Wallet$59.9A smart card you tap against your phone, sold only in sets of two or three so your backup is another card rather than a written seed.
Desktop and browser
Compare every wallet, including the ones we tell you not to buy
Watch: bitcoin in China
A video overview of bitcoin in China. Read the legal status section first: the rules here are restrictive and the video does not change them.
The legal status above still applies. The video is informational and may predate current rules. From our YouTube channel @dontgetrekt, uploaded 2023-02-27.
Do you need a VPN?
A VPN does not change the legal position set out above: the law applies to you regardless of where your connection appears to come from, and exchanges verify identity on every network. We review VPNs as privacy tools that keep your browsing away from your network operator and internet provider, not as a way around any restriction.
If you run one for privacy, the strongest records on our list belong to NordVPN (6 independent no-logs audits, the most of any service we review), Windscribe (its no-logs claim tested in the real world 3 times) and Proton VPN (the most audited service with a free tier).
What the law says
All cryptocurrency trading, exchange, and related business activity is illegal in mainland China. The September 2021 notice from the People's Bank of China and nine other agencies branded such activity illegal financial activity, and the February 2026 joint notice that superseded it went further, covering yuan-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets and making crypto investment transactions civilly unenforceable. Chinese courts have sometimes treated personal holdings as property in disputes, but there is no legal way to buy bitcoin domestically.
Words worth knowing to read this page
Picked from what this page already says about China, not from a standard list.
- Cryptocurrency banlegal status: bannedA cryptocurrency ban is a government prohibition on some or all bitcoin activity, ranging from a blanket criminal ban to a narrower order cutting banks off from exchanges.
- Non-custodial walletno venue we rate serves this marketNon-custodial wallets hold your keys on your own device, which means no company can freeze your bitcoin, reverse a payment, or restore access when you lose the backup.
- Chain analysisrestricted marketChain analysis is the practice of reading the public ledger to group addresses into wallets and attach real names to them, using clustering heuristics plus data from exchanges.
- No-KYC exchangeno local rails listedA no-KYC exchange sells bitcoin without collecting your identity documents, which is legal in some places, prosecutable in others, and always a trade of price and recourse for privacy.
Frequently asked questions
Is bitcoin legal in China?
No. Crypto trading and every related business activity are prohibited on the mainland, a position set in September 2021 and hardened by the February 2026 joint notice. Owning coins is not itself a listed crime, but the state now treats investment transactions as legally void, so participants bear their own losses.
What is China's Ban 2.0 notice?
A joint circular issued in February 2026 by the People's Bank of China and other authorities. It replaced the 2021 rules, extended the ban to yuan-pegged stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization, and targeted marketing, payment clearing, and even company names that suggest crypto activity.
Is Hong Kong under the same ban as mainland China?
No. Hong Kong runs a separate legal system in which retail crypto trading is permitted on exchanges licensed by its Securities and Futures Commission. Those rules apply to Hong Kong residents and do not create a lawful route for mainland residents.
What happened to bitcoin mining in China?
China banned crypto mining in 2021 and provincial authorities have pursued cleanup campaigns since. Once the global leader in hashrate, the country now officially treats mining as an industry to be eliminated.
Companies in China that hold bitcoin
Publicly listed companies headquartered here with bitcoin on the balance sheet. Holdings come from company disclosures and are dated on each page.
