Cryptocurrency Regulatory Landscape in Mainland China
Since 2013, mainland China's regulatory policies on cryptocurrencies have been continuously tightening. Initially, the Chinese government explicitly stated that Bitcoin did not have legal tender status and prohibited banks from participating in transactions. In September 2017, regulation further escalated, completely banning ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) and shutting down domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, which had a huge impact on the market. Subsequently, the scope of regulation expanded to include cryptocurrency mining, and in 2021, the "Digital Currency Law" was issued, promoting the pilot of the digital yuan (CBDC). As of now, mainland China still imposes strict restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions and discourages investors without investment experience from participating.
Platform Globalization and Services for Chinese Users
Affected by mainland China's regulatory policies, many cryptocurrency exchanges originally established or operating in China, such as Binance, OKX, and Huobi, have relocated their operations and headquarters overseas, transforming into globally operated platforms. Although these platforms no longer serve mainland Chinese residents, they maintain significant influence globally, including among Chinese user communities. Below, we will introduce three representative platforms.
Binance
Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Yi He in 2017, initially operating in China. After China banned ICOs in 2017, Binance quickly moved its operations overseas, establishing offices in Japan, Malta, and other locations. It currently claims to have no official company headquarters. Since 2018, Binance has been considered one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. It offers trading services for over 100 cryptocurrencies, including a rich array of products such as spot, options, USDⓈ-M futures, and COIN-M futures.
Regarding regulation, in November 2023, Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws and resigned as CEO. Binance agreed to pay approximately $4.3 billion in fines to U.S. authorities. As of March 2026, Changpeng Zhao's net worth was $111 billion. As of the time of writing, Binance has accumulated over 100 million registered users. Its basic spot trading fee is 0.1%, with a 25% discount when paying with BNB.
OKX
OKX, originally named OKEx, was founded by Chinese blockchain entrepreneur Star Xu in Beijing, China, in 2017. With the tightening of Chinese regulation, OKX completely withdrew from the mainland Chinese market and transformed into a global operation, with its headquarters in Seychelles and branches in Singapore, Dubai, Australia, and other locations. In January 2022, OKEx rebranded to OKX.
OKX has actively acquired regulatory licenses internationally, such as the full MiCA license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). As of 2024, OKX has 4,500 employees. The platform's position in the Chinese cryptocurrency exchange market is becoming increasingly important, focusing on user experience and technological innovation.
HTX (formerly Huobi)
HTX was founded by Leon Li in China in 2013 and was once one of China's largest digital asset trading platforms. After the Chinese government banned Bitcoin exchanges in 2017, Huobi stopped Bitcoin withdrawals and adjusted its business and organizational structure to facilitate global expansion. It moved its headquarters to Seychelles and has offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, the United States, and other locations.
In September 2021, Huobi announced that it would cease providing services to mainland Chinese customers due to new regulations. In October 2022, Huobi changed ownership, with Justin Sun appearing as an advisory board member. In November 2022, its Chinese brand name was changed to "火必," and its English name was shortened to "Huobi," later rebranding again to HTX in September 2023. As of 2025, HTX ranks among the top five cryptocurrency exchanges globally by trading volume, with an average daily trading volume exceeding $5 billion, supporting over 300 cryptocurrencies, and over 10 million registered users worldwide. Its technological advancements have improved its capacity to process user transactions per second. Users can view the latest market data and news for these platforms on Svmuu.
Risk Warning
The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and carries significant investment risks. All users must fully understand the associated risks and strictly comply with the laws and regulations of their respective countries or regions before participating in cryptocurrency trading. For residents of mainland China, participating in overseas cryptocurrency transactions may entail legal and financial risks.
