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Is Culture the Public Blockchain's "Hard Currency"?
Original Article Title: Culturementals Are the New Fundamentals
Original Article Authors: @13300RPM, @FourPillarsFP Researchers
Original Article Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor's Note: The competition in the crypto industry is shifting from a technological race to a cultural resonance, with Culture Chains emerging as a new trend. Technology is now "good enough," and the key to the future lies in community atmosphere and resonance. Investors should focus on believers, inside jokes, and community culture, rather than just code performance. Culture Chains provide exclusive ecosystems for fans and creators, but they also face challenges such as excessive speculation and liquidity fragmentation. Successful Culture Chains need a strong community, open development, and composability to truly become the core battleground of the next cycle.
Below is the original content (slightly reorganized for better readability):
Imagine a blockchain where the killer feature is not a disruptive consensus algorithm or astonishing TPS, but rather, ambiance. On this chain, people gather not because of lower Gas fees, but due to inside jokes, shared identity, and meme culture. Sounds absurd? Yet the crypto world time and time again proves that culture often surpasses technology.
Think of $DOGE (and a dozen other similar coins), a complete joke born out of a meme, yet inexplicably skyrocketed to a multi-billion dollar asset valuation without any technological innovation. Bitcoin's early development relied more on cypherpunk beliefs than the code itself. Ethereum's most loyal users often say, "I came for the tech, but stayed for the community." Events like ETHGlobal hackathons and global Devcons have long transcended the code itself, becoming cultural bonds among developers.
The crypto world has evolved into a stage where participation itself is the product—a immersive social game that blends finance, ideology, and culture.
Welcome to the era of Culture Chains: where the core of blockchain is not what it can do, but who it's for.
1. Culture as Product
Culture Chains are a new vertical SaaS for fan economies.
In simple terms, Culture Chains are blockchains imbued with cultural spirit—they are tailored for specific communities, subcultures, or movements. Unlike generic L1s (trying to meet all needs) or Appchains running a single dapp, Culture Chains occupy a unique middle ground. They are designed as playgrounds for those who share the same ambiance or goal, accommodating multiple applications and serving a specific community.
From this definition, perhaps it can be said that every blockchain has its own culture. Ethereum blends cypherpunk ethos with institutionalized thinking, emphasizing decentralization, programmability, and neutrality. In contrast, Solana is full of speed, chaos, and financial speculation, shaped by its high throughput, low-cost architecture.
However, the difference is that these cultural identities are more of a byproduct of technical design rather than a deliberate shaping. General blockchains tend to spontaneously form some kind of unique culture, while cultural chains are fundamentally designed for a cultural economy from the protocol level. The real distinction lies in the intentionality behind it.
Imagine a blockchain where every dapp serves anime art collectors, hardcore degen gamers, RPG enthusiasts, or fans of a specific NFT ecosystem. Users use the same jargon, rally around the same hot topics, and laugh at the same memes. This is more like a digital city-state running on a blockchain.
If a general-purpose public chain is more like a diverse but chaotic international metropolis, then a cultural chain is more like a theme park or a Renaissance fair—a highly customized, precisely tailored to the needs of a specific audience. By focusing on a niche community, it can be fully optimized in terms of technology, governance, tokenomics, etc., to better serve the values and needs of that community.
They are blockchains designed for cultural monetization, expansion, and preservation.
This design can take various forms:
· Infrastructure optimized for specific creators or media flows
· Built-in revenue sharing or tokenized copyright split mechanisms
· Governance models tailored to creative communities
· Incentive mechanisms for fans to participate, fund, and discover new content
Essentially, cultural chains are an evolution of the concept of "vertical blockchains": instead of trying to be all-encompassing, they focus on a niche area. Their goal is to be the "preferred blockchain for X field," where X represents a community or application scenario with cultural cohesion. The assumption behind this idea is that by focusing on a specific cultural niche, they can more effectively bring together like-minded users and developers and create a stronger network effect than a general-purpose public chain. Their strength comes from focus.
2. Code Can Be Copied, but Atmosphere Cannot
In the world of crypto, community is more important than technology. When choosing a chain, pay attention to the number of believers on each block, not just TPS.
Is culture really more important than code? Many tech geeks scoff at this notion. After all, blockchain infrastructure involves mathematics, cryptography, engineering, game theory—it's "hardcore tech." However, despite the idea that code is law, in the crypto world, culture is king. In the end, it is the social layer that determines which "laws" (code) will truly be adopted.
A perfect protocol, if not believed in by anyone, is a dead end; whereas a rough Meme coin, with a group of fervent believers, is enough to move the market.
Essentially, a crypto network is a social network with banking functionality, and human nature is the core driver of adoption: FOMO, tribalism, identity, belief. These things cannot be directly forked on GitHub.
Think about Bitcoin Cash, a fork of Bitcoin—little technical changes, but significant cultural divide (big blocks vs. small blocks), ultimately determining the outcome. The Ethereum community also once forked into Ethereum Classic due to ideological differences—same code, but different culture, leading to very different results.
Meme and narrative hold atomic-level power in this industry
Remember DeFi Summer? Yield Farming was booming back then, driving this wave was not only smart contracts, but also a bunch of degens shouting "farm and dump" and "all in ape," igniting this movement together. Look at the NFT craze: why did JPEGs on Ethereum skyrocket in value? Not because ERC-721 technology is so magical (it's actually quite simple), but because a group of digital art collectors, show-offs, and community players, revolving around projects like CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, built a unique cultural circle. The technology provides verifiable ownership, but what truly drives the craze is social prestige and community belonging.
The long-term success of a public chain often depends on its community moat. This is the paradox of the crypto world: the strongest moat is not hash power, nor TPS, but belief. Value not only exists in the code, but also in the culture that surrounds it.
This unquantifiable "magic" can make people tattoo the project's logo on their arm or hold onto it even during a 90% drawdown. It can turn early users into evangelists, making a product "inevitable." The cultural chain is based on this insight, betting on the power of niche enthusiast communities rather than a mass-market general solution.
3. Stop Chasing TAM, Start with Tribes
A general-purpose blockchain hopes for users to come, a cultural chain inherently comes with users.
But the key question is: is this model really viable? A new blockchain paradigm must be technically feasible and economically scalable to truly survive.
Unlike the past narratives of blockchain trying to disrupt entire industries, the concept of Culture Chains has taken a more pragmatic approach. Instead of requiring a complete rebuild of infrastructure from scratch, Culture Chains are based on existing blockchain frameworks, optimized and refined for cultural economies.
Today, advancements in technology (interestingly, technology has empowered culture in return) have made creating a new chain easier than ever before. Frameworks such as OP Stack, Arbitrum Orbit, Cosmos SDK, along with modular blockchains, Data Availability Layers (DA Layers), and Rollup as a Service (RAAS) solutions mean that you don't need a Ph.D. in distributed systems to launch a new blockchain.
This means that Culture Chains have the technical feasibility today, rather than being a distant future fantasy.
Critics often question the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of Culture Chains, arguing that focusing on niche communities will limit their growth. But when viewed in a larger context, this logic doesn't hold up: BTS has an estimated global fanbase of 90 million, nearly three times higher than Solana's all-time high Monthly Active Users (MAU) of 31 million.
More importantly, fan communities are not merely "existing"; they consume, organize, and take action. They are not passive users but an as yet untapped cultural infrastructure.
Stop fixating on TAM and start measuring TAC (Total Addressable Culture).
4. Beyond Narratives: Real Projects, Real Value
Culture Chains are not just conceptual narratives; they are real-world projects that have already been implemented and attracted users who truly care about them.
Currently, there are some early projects embodying this concept:
Story: An Open Story Universe on the Blockchain
Imagine the next phenomenon in fantasy universes or comic IPs not coming from a single studio but co-created by an entire on-chain community. @StoryProtocol is betting on this idea.
Story is a new L1 project aiming to become the decentralized IP infrastructure of the internet—a collaborative platform where creators can on-chain collaborate to build and remix stories, tracking contributions and ownership via blockchain.
Its technical core is the provenance mechanism of creative works, but the real highlight is at the cultural level. Story seeks to nurture a storytelling community, where creators collaborate to build a worldview and transform fan communities into DAOs.
If Story succeeds, the next \"Harry Potter\"-level cultural phenomenon could be a product of decentralized co-creation—memes, fan creations, and community lore will all intertwine, secured by the blockchain for authenticity and ownership.
Story represents a paradigm shift: it sees the blockchain as a canvas for carrying memes, myths, and collaborative creativity, not just as a cold technology.
Animecoin: The On-Chain Link of Global Anime Culture
The anime culture sphere is vast and borderless, connecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide through their love for Japanese animation. Now, imagine if the entire anime community had a common token to rally around, what would happen? This is precisely what @animecoin ($ANIME) aims to achieve.
As a newly launched \"culture coin,\" Animecoin aims to bring together anime enthusiasts on the blockchain. The idea is straightforward: to transform existing active subcultures into a crypto ecosystem. For a more in-depth analysis, refer to the two reports, \"Anime Needs Web3\" and \"The Future of $ANIME is Yours.\"
Animecoin can be used for:
· Funding fan-driven projects, such as fan creations, independent animations, etc.;
· Purchasing and trading anime-related digital assets, such as NFT art, virtual collectibles;
· Community governance, allowing token holders to vote in support of emerging anime creators.
But more than specific use cases, $ANIME is more like a cultural flag—a way for global anime fans to have a shared economic identity.
Currently in its early stages, but even if only a small fraction of the global otaku population joins, it signifies the birth of millions of new crypto users, who are likely more concerned about Crunchyroll (an anime streaming platform) than encryption technology itself.
Animecoin fully embodies the core concept of a \"cultural chain\": it does not require people to care about encryption for the sake of encryption but rather builds a crypto ecosystem around people's pre-existing beloved identities and cultures.
5. The Fracture of Cultural Economy: When Fans Become Investors
However, the biggest risk of a cultural chain comes from a concerning question: Can fans really become investors?
Consumer culture and investment are fundamentally two very different behaviors. Unless someone is already deeply involved in both crypto and a particular cultural community, it is hard to assume that these two entirely different groups will naturally merge. Perhaps the idea that a "fan community can evolve into an investor community" is fundamentally just an overly optimistic simplification.
Secondly, the more realistic risk is this: when speculative demand overwhelms real cultural participation, the economic system will collapse. This has been validated numerous times in past Play-to-Earn (P2E) games—when the economic drive is no longer based on actual demand but is inflated by hype, a bubble burst is only a matter of time. The cultural chain also faces the same threat: if financial incentives replace cultural identity, the hype will unwittingly hollow out the entire ecosystem.
Lastly, the issue of fragmentation and liquidity islands. If every niche culture carves out its own blockchain, it might recreate the isolation problem that we originally sought to solve with interoperability. To avoid this, cultural chains must have composable infrastructure and bridge the liquidity of the mainstream crypto economy, or they may find themselves trapped in their isolated world.
6. Moat Built by MEME
If you can't rock this hoodie, don't bet on this chain. Despite mentioning some potential risks earlier, I still believe in cultural chains, and the reason is simple: once they take off, the impact is exponential.
In the crypto industry, technological advantages are often fleeting—today's "black tech" will become tomorrow's standard feature. However, the social advantage (social alpha) remains one of the few truly sustainable moats. For investors and builders, leveraging culture is not a shortcut but a strategic "force multiplier."
For VCs and Investors:
When evaluating a cultural chain, don't just look at TPS (transactions per second) and GitHub commit history, but also ask:
· Does this community have a "soul"?
· Are there true believers who will hold on even in a bear market?
It may sound a bit esoteric, but this is actually a crucial early signal that can indicate whether a project can grow organically. A project with average technology but a MEME army may grow faster than a project with top-notch technology but lacking cultural resonance. In other words, investing in a cultural chain is more like investing in a social network: what you should focus on is not the code's efficiency but the community's activity, sense of identity, and network effects.
For Web3 Entrepreneurs:
The cultural chain has given you an opportunity to accurately meet user needs. You are not blindly searching for users in an unknown market but are directly entering a highly matched community that is eager for the product you provide.
However, this also means that you cannot "hide" behind technology—the community's feedback is immediate and very direct. The best approach is to build openly and transparently, allowing the community to participate in the narrative. In addition to technology, consider "urban planning": community governance, social features, event planning, storytelling... In the cultural chain, social experience (social UX) and UI/UX are equally important.
For Speculators, Creators, and Everyday Players:
The cultural chain is a playground that can turn your passion from "niche" to "mainstream." If you have been deeply involved in an ecosystem but feel limited by a general-purpose blockchain, you now have your own stage.
However, at the same time, the responsibility of maintaining the community atmosphere falls on you. In the cultural chain, you are both content and value. If managed properly, you may become the next builder of the early Ethereum community; but if mismanaged, you may be consumed by internal conflicts. Choose your tribe carefully.
7. The Next Cycle Belongs to the "Believers"
From 2010 to the beginning of 2020, competition in the crypto world revolved around TPS (transactions per second) and technological roadmaps. But those days are over. Now, many public chains are already "good enough" at a purely technical level, and the core of the next round of competition will be the cultural density within each block.
In the late 2020s, standout public chains may not necessarily be those theoretically capable of processing millions of TPS but those that can support millions of memes, millions of high-quality interactions, and gather millions of believers.
So, if you are looking for the next wave of crypto trends, don't just ask, "What can the code of this chain do?" Instead, ask, "What does this community believe in?" Look for places with inside jokes, a sense of ritual, and a strong cultural atmosphere because this is the breeding ground of the cultural chain and may also give birth to the next generation of public chains.
Source: "Original Article Link"
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Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:
To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:
(I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.
The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.
A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.
（II）Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.
Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.
(III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.
(IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.
(6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.
(7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.
(8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.
（IX） Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.
（X） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.
（XI） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.
（XII） Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.
（XIII） Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.
（XIV） Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.
(15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.
(16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.
(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.
(19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.
This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.
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Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:
To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:
(I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.
The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.
A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.
（II）Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.
Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.
(III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.
(IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.
(6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.
(7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.
(8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.
（IX） Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.
（X） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.
（XI） Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.
（XII） Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.
（XIII） Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.
（XIV） Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.
(15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.
(16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.
(17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.
(18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.
(19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.
This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.
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