When China crypto ban, a sweeping government crackdown that outlawed all cryptocurrency trading, mining, and financial services in 2021. Also known as China’s crypto prohibition, it wasn’t just a policy change—it was a seismic shift that sent shockwaves through global crypto markets. Before the ban, China controlled over 70% of Bitcoin mining and was home to the world’s largest crypto exchanges. Then, in one year, everything changed.
The crypto mining China, a once-dominant industry fueled by cheap hydroelectric power and state-subsidized electricity. Also known as Chinese Bitcoin mining, it was the backbone of the global network didn’t just slow down—it vanished. Miners packed up their rigs and moved to Kazakhstan, the U.S., and Iran, where energy was still affordable and rules were looser. Meanwhile, crypto exchange restrictions, the legal barriers that forced platforms like Binance and Huobi to shut down operations in mainland China. Also known as China’s exchange ban, they pushed millions of users to offshore platforms or peer-to-peer networks. The result? A black market for crypto grew, with Chinese users turning to P2P trading, VPNs, and offshore wallets just to hold Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin China, the cultural and economic phenomenon where ordinary citizens used crypto as a hedge against currency devaluation and capital controls. Also known as Chinese Bitcoin adoption, it wasn’t about speculation—it was survival didn’t disappear. It just went underground. In 2024, Iranians weren’t the only ones sending billions out of their country via crypto—China’s citizens moved billions too, using digital assets to protect savings from inflation and capital controls. The ban didn’t kill crypto in China—it forced it into the shadows, where it still thrives.
What you’ll find in the posts below aren’t just news snippets. They’re real stories from countries that picked up the pieces after China’s ban: miners in Iran and Kazakhstan facing power rationing, traders in India avoiding regulated exchanges, and users everywhere learning how to hold crypto without relying on centralized platforms. This isn’t about history—it’s about what happens when a government tries to erase something that runs on code, not courts.
Despite a total ban since 2021, 59 million Chinese citizens still use cryptocurrency through hidden P2P networks, VPNs, and encrypted apps. Here's how they do it - and why the government can't stop them.