Despite China's 2021 crypto ban, peer-to-peer trading continues through VPNs, USDT, and encrypted apps. Learn how traders avoid detection, the risks involved, and why it's still thriving in 2025.
Crypto Trading China: What's Banned, What's Hidden, and How It Really Works in 2025
When it comes to crypto trading China, the Chinese government’s strict prohibition on cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms since 2017. Also known as China’s crypto ban, it doesn’t make holding crypto illegal—but it makes buying, selling, or exchanging it through local platforms nearly impossible. The crackdown wasn’t just about fear of speculation. It was about control: China wants its citizens’ money flowing through state-backed systems, not decentralized networks outside its reach.
This ban extends to every major exchange—Binance, the world’s largest crypto platform, Coinbase, a U.S.-based exchange with global reach, and others—all blocked from operating inside China. Internet service providers actively filter traffic to these sites. Banks freeze accounts linked to crypto transactions. Even using a VPN to access foreign exchanges can trigger scrutiny. But here’s the twist: people still trade. Not openly. Not legally. But quietly, through peer-to-peer markets, offshore platforms, and encrypted apps that don’t leave digital footprints.
What you won’t find in official reports is how deeply cryptocurrency restrictions China, the layered system of financial surveillance and digital censorship has pushed trading underground. Chinese traders now rely on OTC desks in Hong Kong, Telegram groups with verified sellers, and decentralized wallets that don’t require KYC. Some even use gift cards or cash transfers to buy Bitcoin from strangers. It’s not easy. It’s not safe. But it’s happening—every day.
The government’s goal is clear: stop capital flight and maintain dominance over the yuan. Yet, the more they clamp down, the more creative the workarounds become. In 2025, the ban isn’t broken—it’s bypassed. And while the risks are high, the demand hasn’t faded. You’ll find posts here that break down exactly which exchanges are still blocked, how Chinese users circumvent the filters, what penalties they face if caught, and which tools are actually reliable. No fluff. No hype. Just what’s real, what’s risky, and what’s still possible under China’s crypto rules.