Current Status of Virtual Currency Trading Platforms in Mainland China
Since September 2021, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and nine other departments jointly issued a notice, explicitly prohibiting all business activities related to virtual currency. This includes virtual currency exchange, trading, information intermediary services, token issuance financing, and related financial product trading. Since then, China's regulatory policy on virtual currency has continued to tighten and has entered a normalized and institutionalized stage.
- Comprehensive Prohibition and Illegalization of Overseas Services: Regulatory policies explicitly state that overseas virtual currency exchanges providing services to Chinese residents via the internet are also deemed illegal financial activities. This means that providing virtual currency trading services to mainland Chinese residents, whether by domestic or overseas platforms, is illegal.
- Mass Exodus of Exchanges: Following the ban in 2021, several major global virtual currency trading platforms, including HTX (Huobi), Binance (Binance), and OKEx, announced that they would clear out mainland Chinese users and cease providing related services by the end of 2021.
- Continued Tightening of Regulations: In November 2025, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) led multiple departments in reiterating the illegality of virtual currency-related businesses. In February 2026, eight departments again jointly issued a document, not only reaffirming the strict prohibition of domestic virtual currency businesses but also for the first time explicitly prohibiting the issuance of RMB-pegged stablecoins overseas and the conduct of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization activities domestically.
- "Mining" Activity Ban: Virtual currency "mining" activities are also strictly suppressed in mainland China, with local authorities continuously investigating and shutting down existing projects and strictly prohibiting new "mining" projects.
It is worth noting that, unlike the strict regulatory environment in mainland China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region had approved 12 virtual digital assets trading platform licenses (such as OSL, HashKey Exchange) by early 2026, adopting a more open and compliant regulatory framework. However, for mainland Chinese residents, participating in overseas or Hong Kong virtual digital assets trading still requires strict adherence to local laws and regulations and faces potential legal and financial risks.
Analysis of Feixiaohao Platform
Feixiaohao (Feixiaohao) is not a virtual currency trading platform, but rather a data information and market analysis platform focused on the blockchain industry. It is often referred to in the industry as "China's CoinGecko," providing users with real-time cryptocurrency market data, trend analysis, and in-depth data mining services.
- Platform Nature and Establishment Time: Feixiaohao was officially established in August 2017. Its core function is to aggregate data resources from hundreds of global digital assets trading platforms, tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies, and tens of thousands of trading pairs, helping users understand market dynamics.
- Operational Status and Controversies:
- 2021: The original Feixiaohao team announced that it would cease operations in mainland China due to policy reasons.
- August 2024: It was reported that several senior executives of Feixiaohao were taken away for investigation by Inner Mongolia police.
- December 2024: Feixiaohao officially issued a statement, acknowledging market rumors and stating that the platform had undergone "strategic acquisition and integration" by a team with rich experience and deep industry background. The statement also mentioned disputes with the original team over code delivery and final payment, and noted that the new team had registered companies and trademarks overseas for legal and compliant operations.
- Profit Model: Historical reports once indicated that Feixiaohao's profit model might include advertising fees, listing fees, and ranking fees, although Feixiaohao's负责人 once denied these claims, emphasizing that the platform primarily provides technical services and investor rights protection support.
