China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has introduced new regulations for banks, requiring them to report suspicious transactions, including those involving digital currencies. These regulations cover monitoring of illegal currency activities, cross-border gambling, and illegal financial transactions related to digital currencies. Banks must track transactions based on the identities of individuals and entities involved, the source of funds, and transaction frequency. This move reflects China’s strict approach to regulating commercial activities involving digital currencies. Despite its anti-digital currency stance, China, with over 190,000 bitcoins, is the second-largest holder of Bitcoin after the United States. Recently, a Chinese court ruled that digital assets have ‘property attributes,’ but these protections apply only to digital currencies as commodities, not as currencies or financial instruments.
