TL;DR:
- China’s Supreme Court announced it will study new adjudication rules for cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence cases.
- The court plans to develop judicial interpretations on civil compensation for insider trading and market manipulation.
- The total ban on cryptocurrency transactions in mainland China remains in force, with no signs of reversal.
China’s Supreme People’s Court announced it will study new adjudication rules for cases related to virtual currencies, cross-border finance, and artificial intelligence. The announcement was made by Liu Guixiang, a member of the court’s Judicial Committee, during a press conference.
“We will conduct in-depth research on adjudication rules for new cases such as virtual currencies and cross-border finance, and formulate judicial interpretations on civil compensation for insider trading and market manipulation as soon as possible,” Liu stated. The court also plans to study judicial protection rules for disputes related to artificial intelligence and data rights, including conflicts over data ownership, data transactions, and AI-generated content.
The goal is to establish clearer internal judicial standards that improve consistency in resolving the growing number of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence-related litigation cases in the country.
China’s Cryptocurrency Ban Is Practically Immovable
The Asian giant is known for being extremely restrictive toward the crypto industry. In December 2013, the People’s Bank of China banned financial institutions from offering Bitcoin-related services, without recognizing it as a currency. In September 2021, ten government agencies, including the central bank and securities regulators, imposed a total ban on all cryptocurrency transactions, Bitcoin mining, and activities related to initial coin offerings in the country.
In February 2026, the People’s Bank of China also banned the issuance of unauthorized offshore stablecoins pegged to the yuan, and the unapproved tokenization of real-world assets. This measure came shortly after the government approved commercial banks sharing interest with customers who hold digital yuan, the State-managed CBDC. The initiative signals that authorities are moving toward maximum possible financial restriction, betting on establishing the digital yuan as the sole form of sovereign digital money, rather than allowing decentralized alternatives.
The judicial context was preceded by the case of Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group, extradited to China in January 2026 on alleged ties to scam operations. In October 2025, the United States Department of Justice seized approximately $15 billion in Bitcoin associated with his operations.
