On December 2, 21st Century Business Herald published an article titled "Stablecoins Included in Virtual Currency Regulation: Three Core Considerations." In the article, Zhao Binghao, Dean of the Institute of Financial Technology and Law at China University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that the People's Bank of China's explicit classification of stablecoins as virtual currencies does not mean that stablecoins are "contraband" in the sense of criminal law. Rather, it means that the commercial, intermediary, and clearing activities surrounding stablecoins are included in the scope of regulation.
This characterization is a key measure to block "currency substitution" and cross-border arbitrage channels at the source. The current crackdown on illegal financial activities involving virtual currencies is having a multi-dimensional impact on the domestic stablecoin ecosystem, and its development space will continue to shrink—a trend that has become an industry consensus.
