Chinese Authorities Strengthen Regulation on Virtual Asset Marketing and RWA Tokenization... Crypto Market Enters 'Deep Winter'

As of April 25, 2026, the Chinese virtual asset market has entered a strong regulatory phase that blocks online promotion and asset tokenization itself, going beyond a simple trading ban. The latest online marketing rules introduced on April 24, 2026, directly target financial influencers and marketing platforms, revealing the authorities' determination to completely eliminate the remaining 'gray zones' of virtual asset promotion within the mainland.

Advertising compliance in 2026 is not just about avoiding violations, but about ensuring systematic and documented integrity. All claims must be provable, and all sources must be verifiable.

This strengthening of marketing regulations is in line with the global trend of virtual asset advertising regulations spreading across Europe, Australia, and the UK. Chinese authorities have decided to hold so-called 'finfluencers' active on social media platforms strictly accountable for making virtual asset-related claims and are applying a zero-tolerance principle toward abnormal marketing activities. This signifies an evolution from past ambiguous regulations to a more sophisticated control method that blocks the marketing channels themselves.

The 2026 Notice: A New Legal Foundation Replacing the 2021 Ban

At the core of this crackdown is the 'Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Virtual Assets and Related Risks (2026 Notice),' which took effect on February 6, 2026. Jointly issued by eight major regulatory agencies in China, this notice officially replaces the existing 2021 guidelines and establishes a stricter legal system. Below are the key changes in the strengthened 2026 regulatory framework compared to the 2021 framework.

• Establishment of a top-level regulatory framework that replaces the 2021 guidelines and takes effect immediately
• Includes explicit bans on not only Bitcoin and Ethereum but also stablecoins and RWA tokenization
• Establishment of grounds for strong legal crackdowns and penalties for influencers and marketing channels
• Strengthening of a government-wide joint enforcement system involving the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS)

In particular, this regulation is noteworthy for expanding its scope to stablecoins and Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization. Projects seeking to tokenize physical assets such as commodities, bonds, and real estate must now obtain prior approval from authorities before operation, a measure that effectively blocks the distribution of unregulated tokenized security products at the source. Authorities judge that these assets pose a high risk of disrupting the existing financial order.

In terms of enforcement, unprecedented multi-departmental cooperation is taking place. On April 2, 2026, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), along with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), launched a nationwide special enforcement action targeting illegal personal information processing and abnormal marketing activities. The following is the major regulatory schedule for the first half of 2026.

Global Regulatory Trends and China's 'Deep Winter' Outlook

China's closed-off approach contrasts with the case of the European Central Bank (ECB), which signed standardized contracts to lower the integration costs of the digital euro. While the UK and Australia are also strengthening marketing regulations, they differ from China's total ban in that they aim for consumer protection within the legal framework of the assets themselves. China is moving toward completely removing the remnants of the virtual asset ecosystem.

Market experts analyze that the price recovery in 2025 was merely an 'illusion' stemming from a misjudgment of deregulation, and that the Chinese market has entered a full-blown 'Deep Winter' in 2026. The draft Financial Law, currently undergoing legislative procedures, is expected to further solidify control over virtual asset activities, leading to intensified market uncertainty and regulatory risks in the future.