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133 Transactions, $8.6 Billion: Who Bought the Crypto Industry in 2025
Original Article Title: "133 Transactions, $8.6 Billion: Who Bought the Crypto Industry in 2025"
Original Article Author: Wan Wan Lin, Beating Insight
The crypto market in 2025 was highly fragmented.
BTC experienced a pullback of over 30% during the year, altcoins saw a sea of red, and cries of "crypto is dead" echoed continuously. The newbies who bought the top at the beginning of the year saw their accounts shrink by half, some have already uninstalled their trading platform apps, while others are still holding on, waiting to break even. The emotions in the crypto community plummeted to the lowest point since FTX's collapse in 2022.
However, amidst this chaos, another group of people was aggressively making acquisitions.
According to PitchBook data, the total amount of mergers and acquisitions in the crypto industry in 2025 reached $8.6 billion, with 267 transactions, an 18% year-on-year increase. This number is nearly 4 times that of 2024 and exceeds the total of the past four years. Using a broader statistical approach from Architect Partners, the total amount is $12.9 billion.
The volume of top transactions was jaw-dropping: Coinbase spent $29 billion to acquire the options giant Deribit, setting the record for the largest acquisition in the history of the crypto industry; Kraken invested $15 billion to acquire the traditional futures platform NinjaTrader, dubbed the "largest TradFi and Crypto integration deal in history"; Ripple acquired Wall Street prime broker Hidden Road for $12.5 billion, officially entering the realm of institutional finance.
Retail investors exited in fear, while institutions aggressively built their positions on the ruins.
Interestingly, these institutions were not buying coins. If they were bullish on the coin price, they could simply buy BTC directly, so why spend billions acquiring companies?
What they were buying were exchanges, licenses, custodians, payment channels, and clearing systems.
What they were bottom-fishing for was the industry's infrastructure.
This reminds people of Wall Street after the 2008 financial crisis. Lehman collapsed, Bear Stearns vanished, but JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs survived and took the opportunity to swallow a bunch of assets. After the crisis, the strong became stronger, and industry concentration significantly increased.
In 2025, the crypto industry is playing out a similar script.
Why Traditional Finance Is "Bottom-Fishing"
Why 2025? Because three keys turned simultaneously.
The first key is the SEC's change of leadership.
During Gary Gensler's era, the crypto industry lived in a state of "Schrodinger's Compliance": you don't know if the token you issued is a security, you don't know when a trading platform's operations will be deemed illegal, you don't know if your company will still exist tomorrow. Almost every well-known company, including Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Ripple, Uniswap, and OpenSea, has received subpoenas or Wells Notices from the SEC.
This uncertainty is the enemy of mergers and acquisitions. No reputable financial institution is willing to spend $1 billion to acquire a company that could be "surgically removed" by regulation at any time. How do you conduct due diligence? How do you build a valuation model? How do you price legal risks? All are question marks.
In January 2025, the Trump administration took office, and the SEC's attitude made a 180-degree turn. The newly appointed acting chairman, Mark Uyeda, established the Crypto Task Force on his first day in office, announcing an intention to use "dialogue" instead of "enforcement." Over the next few months, the SEC withdrew nearly 60% of its crypto-related lawsuits at a near-fire-sale pace: the Coinbase case was dropped, the Binance case was dropped, the Kraken case was dropped, and even the Ripple case, a century-long legal battle, ended in a settlement.
The key to this dismissal was the manner in which it was done: "with prejudice," a legal term meaning not able to be refiled. This gave the market peace of mind: this was a complete turnaround.
The second key is the floodgates of licensing.
On December 12, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved national trust bank charters for 5 crypto companies: BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Ripple. This means they can directly access the Federal Reserve system, provide custody, payment, clearing services, and enjoy the same privileges as traditional banks.
A stark numerical comparison illustrates the point: in the entire year of 2025, the OCC received 18 bank charter applications; in 2024, there was only 1. Once the gates were opened, everyone rushed in.
The third key is the GENIUS Act.
On July 18, the first federal crypto legislation in the United States was signed into law. This law sets rules for stablecoins: 1:1 reserves, monthly disclosure, bankruptcy priority payment. More importantly, it clarifies that compliant stablecoins are not securities or commodities and are not under the jurisdiction of the SEC and CFTC.
This is equivalent to issuing a "Good Citizen Certificate" to stablecoins: banks can now confidently engage in stablecoin business, payment companies can boldly integrate, without worrying about being held accountable one day.
The SEC dropped the lawsuit, eliminating legal risks; the OCC granted the charter, making bank participation possible; the GENIUS Act passed, turning stablecoins into compliant financial products. With three keys turning together, a door that had been tightly closed for a decade has now opened.
The area outside the door is crowded with people holding checks.
The Three Major Buyers Arms Race
When it comes to the ambition and scale of mergers and acquisitions in 2025, MVP definitely belongs to Ripple.
Speaking of Ripple, the impression many in the crypto community may have is still stuck at the "XRP company" - the Ripple that was sued by the SEC in 2020 and fought a four-year legal battle with regulators. But the Ripple after 2024 is a different beast.
The lawsuits have basically settled (with a final ruling in August 2024, reducing the fine from 20 billion to 1.25 billion), the company holds a large amount of cash, and has begun a frenzied expansion of its empire. Their core business has long since transformed: custody, stablecoins, compliance channels - they do whatever makes money.
In this year, Ripple spent 27 billion dollars on acquisitions, becoming the third U.S. financial company to complete two 10 billion dollar-level acquisitions in the same year, following Morgan Stanley and New York Community Bank. The last time Morgan Stanley did this was in 2020: they bought E-Trade for 13 billion and Eaton Vance for 7 billion.
Ripple is now on the same level as the big players, and these two core transactions are worth a closer look.
The first, a $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road. This is a globally top non-bank prime brokerage firm, serving hedge funds, asset management companies, proprietary trading firms, with businesses covering multiple asset classes including foreign exchange, derivatives, fixed income, digital assets, and more.
What is the concept of a prime brokerage firm? Simply put, it is a company that provides "one-stop back-office services" to institutional investors: you want to trade, I help you settle; you want leverage, I lend you money; you want asset custody, I help you keep it safe. The prime brokerage business of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley is a cash cow.
After the acquisition, Hidden Road was renamed Ripple Prime. Ripple has taken a big step into the core circle of Wall Street.
The second deal, a $10 billion acquisition of GTreasury. This is a 40-year-old enterprise treasury management system provider, not the sexiest sounding, but with an impressive client list: American Airlines, Goodyear, Volvo, all Fortune 500. GTreasury processes over $12.5 trillion in payment flows annually.
Putting these two deals together, Ripple's strategic roadmap becomes clear.
It is no longer satisfied with being a cross-border payments company; it wants to build an "end-to-end institutional financial stack": corporate treasury with GTreasury, institutional prime brokerage with Ripple Prime, cross-border payments with Ripple's own network, all bridged by XRP. From the CFO's computer to the hedge fund's trading desk, the entire chain is connected.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse said a big truth at the Ripple Swell conference: "Most of our acquisitions have focused on traditional finance, with the aim of bringing crypto solutions into it."
To translate this statement: Crypto companies are devouring traditional finance.
Coinbase's strategy is different. It aims to be the "Super App" of the crypto world, a platform where everything can be traded.
The $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit is the biggest move of the year. Deribit is the world's largest crypto options exchange, with an annual trading volume of over $1 trillion and open interest regularly exceeding $30 billion.
The options market is the main battlefield for institutional investors: hedge funds use options to hedge risk, market makers use options to manage positions, asset management companies use options to structure products. Acquiring Deribit is like getting a ticket to the institutional market.
In addition to Deribit, Coinbase has also acquired the on-chain advertising platform Spindl, token management company Liquifi, DeFi options protocol Opyn, meme coin exchange Vector.fun, and the prediction market company The Clearing Company.
With a total of 10 acquisitions in a year, covering derivatives, DeFi, prediction markets, and meme coin trading. CEO Brian Armstrong's ambition is the "Everything Exchange": everything tradable will be on Coinbase.
Kraken's strategy is more straightforward: acquire licenses first, then take on the business.
15 Billion to Buy NinjaTrader, Buying the CFTC Futures License. This company has a 20-year history and is a veteran player in the U.S. retail futures trading field. In the U.S., to legally provide futures and derivatives trading services to retail investors, you must hold a CFTC license.
Apply for it yourself? A minimum of three years waiting in line, and it's not guaranteed to be approved. Buy a licensed company? You're immediately operational. Time for space, even a 50% premium is considered cheap.
After obtaining the license, Kraken submitted an IPO application in November, aiming to go public in the first quarter of 2026 with a valuation of 200 billion dollars. It is no longer just a cryptocurrency exchange; it is a licensed multi-asset trading platform.
The Abacus of Stripes
Crypto companies are engulfing traditional finance, while traditional finance is also infiltrating crypto in return.
The most typical example is Stripe's acquisition of Bridge.
In February 2025, the payment giant acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion: a stablecoin infrastructure company with only 58 employees, valued at $2 billion in Series A. Stripe offered a 5.5x premium, setting a record for the largest acquisition in company history.
Why would a 58-person startup be worth $1.1 billion?
Because Bridge has something that is hard to buy with both money and time: it is the most mature API platform in the stablecoin field, with clients including Coinbase and SpaceX, allowing enterprises to invoke stablecoin capabilities just like calling a regular payment interface. The founding team comes from Coinbase and Square, with a deep understanding of both payment and crypto.
Do it yourself at Stripe? At least two years. Buy Bridge? The product can be launched next month.
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison calls stablecoins "room-temperature superconductors of financial services." This metaphor accurately captures the essence of stablecoins: they allow money to flow like information, 24/7, across borders, at almost zero cost. Traditional cross-border remittances take 3 to 5 days and charge 3% to 5% fees; stablecoin transfers settle in seconds and cost less than 1 cent.
After the acquisition, Stripe launched three products within six months: Stablecoin Financial Accounts covering 101 countries, a stablecoin consumer card in partnership with Visa, and an Open Issuance platform that allows any company to issue its own stablecoin.
Stripe's ambition is clear: to redefine cross-border payments with stablecoins.
Old money on Wall Street is also moving.
In October, JPMorgan announced it would accept BTC and ETH as collateral, starting with ETF shares and later expanding to spot. This marked the first time a major Wall Street bank formally included crypto assets in its collateral scope. Bloomberg reported that a consortium of 10 major banks is exploring joint issuance of G7 currency stablecoins.
Paxos has acquired the institutional-grade MPC wallet platform Fordefi for over $100 million. Fordefi serves over 300 institutions with a monthly trading volume of $120 billion. With the acquisition, Paxos can now offer a one-stop service for "stablecoin issuance + asset tokenization + DeFi custody."
Five years ago, Wall Street and the crypto community were looking down on each other. Wall Street saw crypto as a scam and a bubble, while the crypto community viewed Wall Street as dinosaurs and vested interests. Now, they are sitting at the same negotiation table, valuing each other's assets in cold hard cash.
The boundaries are blurring. The definitions of "crypto company" and "financial company" are being rewritten.
Epilogue
But everyone is racing against time.
On June 5, 2025, Circle went public on the NYSE, soaring 168% on the first day and accumulating a 247% gain over two days. This performance made it the best-performing first day of an IPO raising over $500 million since 1980. The market priced the issuer of USDC at a $16.7 billion market cap, raising $1.1 billion.
An investment bank analyst did the math: based on the offering price, Circle "left on the table" as much as $1.76 billion, making it the seventh-largest IPO pricing mistake in history. In other words, the market's enthusiasm for the stablecoin race far exceeded the underwriters' expectations.
Following Circle, Bullish and eToro went public. In the full year of 2025, 11 crypto companies completed IPOs, raising a total of $14.6 billion. In comparison, in 2024, only 4 companies raised $3.1 billion.
The IPO pipeline for 2026 is even more crowded. Kraken, valued at $20 billion, aims to go public in the first quarter; BitGo's revenue has quadrupled, and it has already submitted a confidential filing; Gemini and Grayscale are in line. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley predicts that this wave of IPOs could create nearly $100 billion in market value.
But 2026 is also a midterm election year in the United States.
The historical pattern is clear: The president's party usually loses seats in the midterm elections. If the Republicans lose the majority in the House or Senate, the crypto-friendly policy window may narrow or even close. The SEC chair may change, the legislative process may stall, and regulatory attitudes may shift again.
This explains why everyone is in a rush. M&A deals need to be closed before the window shuts, IPOs need to be priced before the market sentiment reverses, and licenses need to be obtained before the policy tightens.
The time window may be only 18 months.
Back to the initial question: What is Wall Street betting on?
They are betting on the arrival of the "bidirectional acquisition" era. Crypto companies acquiring traditional finance's licenses, clients, and compliance capabilities; traditional finance acquiring crypto's technology, pathways, and innovation capabilities. Both sides are permeating each other, and the boundaries are gradually disappearing. In three to five years, there may no longer be a distinction between "crypto companies" and "traditional financial companies," only "financial companies."
The $86 billion acquisition spree in 2025 is essentially an arms race for "compliance infrastructure." The winners of this race will not be those obsessing over price charts but the long-term players who secure positions early, obtain licenses, and build full-stack capabilities.
While retail investors are still trying to time the market, institutions have already bought into the entire track.
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China's Central Bank and Eight Other Departments' Latest Regulatory Focus: Key Attention to RWA Tokenized Asset Risk
Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:
To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:
(I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.
The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.
A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.
（II）Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.
Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.
(III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with 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 China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.
(IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.
(6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.
(7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.
(8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.
（IX） Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.
（X） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.
（XI） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.
（XII） Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.
（XIII） Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.
（XIV） Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.
(15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.
(16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.
(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.
(19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.
This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.
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China's Central Bank and Eight Other Departments' Latest Regulatory Focus: Key Attention to RWA Tokenized Asset Risk
Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:
To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:
(I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.
The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.
A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.
（II）Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.
Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.
(III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with 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 China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.
(IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.
(6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.
(7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.
(8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.
（IX） Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.
（X） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.
（XI） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.
（XII） Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.
（XIII） Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.
（XIV） Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.
(15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.
(16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.
(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.
(19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.
This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.
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