Bitcoin in China: What's Really Happening with Crypto and the Yuan

When people talk about Bitcoin in China, the world's largest cryptocurrency operating under strict state control. Also known as BTC in mainland China, it's not illegal to hold—but it's nearly impossible to trade openly. The Chinese government doesn’t want its citizens using Bitcoin to move money outside the system. Instead, it’s building its own digital currency: the digital yuan, a state-controlled central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People’s Bank of China. This isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a power move.

China’s approach to crypto isn’t about stopping innovation. It’s about control. While Bitcoin miners were once a huge part of the global network, the government shut down nearly all mining operations by 2021, forcing farms to move to Kazakhstan, the U.S., and other countries. Trading platforms like Binance and OKX were forced to exit the mainland. Even peer-to-peer trading is risky—banks monitor transactions closely and can freeze accounts linked to crypto activity. The PBOC crypto policy, the central bank’s strict stance on decentralized finance. Also known as China’s financial surveillance framework, it treats Bitcoin as a speculative asset, not money. Meanwhile, the digital yuan is being tested in over 200 cities. It’s used for payroll, public transit, and even food delivery. Unlike Bitcoin, every transaction is traceable. The government knows who paid whom, when, and how much.

So what’s left for regular people? Some still use over-the-counter brokers or VPNs to access foreign exchanges, but that’s legally gray and carries real risk. Others hold Bitcoin in cold wallets as a long-term store of value, treating it like gold—out of sight, out of mind. The truth is, China’s crypto environment isn’t about freedom. It’s about replacing decentralized systems with centralized ones. The goal isn’t to ban Bitcoin because it’s dangerous—it’s to ban it because it’s uncontrollable.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of how to buy Bitcoin in China. It’s a collection of real stories, regulatory updates, and technical breakdowns that show exactly how the system works—and why it’s designed to keep you from using Bitcoin the way the rest of the world does. These posts don’t sugarcoat it. They show the rules, the loopholes, and the quiet ways people are still finding to hold value outside the state’s reach.