Despite China's crypto ban, millions of citizens still trade using offshore exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and Huobi. Learn which platforms work in 2025, how to bypass restrictions, and the real risks involved.
Crypto Exchanges in China: What's Allowed, What's Banned, and Where to Trade Now
When China cracked down on crypto exchanges, centralized platforms that let users buy, sell, or trade digital assets. Also known as cryptocurrency trading platforms, it quickly shut down operations like Huobi, OKX, and Binance’s local services in 2021. This wasn’t just a regulatory move—it was a full-scale ban on domestic crypto trading infrastructure. But here’s the twist: people didn’t stop trading. They just went underground.
The China crypto ban, a government policy that prohibits financial institutions and exchanges from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. Also known as crypto trading prohibition in China, it made it illegal for local businesses to operate as crypto exchanges or process crypto payments. Yet, the demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum didn’t vanish. Instead, users turned to peer-to-peer crypto China, direct person-to-person trading networks that bypass regulated platforms. Also known as P2P crypto markets, it became the backbone of China’s hidden crypto economy. Platforms like LocalBitcoins and Paxful saw a surge in Chinese traders using WeChat and QQ to match buyers and sellers. They paid in yuan, often through bank transfers or Alipay, and used stablecoin China, digital currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar to avoid Bitcoin’s volatility. Also known as USDT trading in China, it became the preferred way to move value without triggering bank alerts. USDT, especially on the TRON network, is now the unofficial currency of China’s crypto underground.
Why does this matter? Because the ban didn’t kill crypto—it forced it into smarter, riskier forms. People use VPNs to access foreign exchanges, trade via Telegram groups, and even convert crypto to gold or real estate to avoid detection. Some traders hold crypto as long-term savings, while others use it to send money overseas. The government monitors transactions, but the system is too big to fully shut down. Thousands still trade daily, quietly, using tools no official report will ever name.
What you’ll find in the posts below are real stories from people who’ve navigated this system. You’ll learn about fake exchanges pretending to serve Chinese users, how stablecoins bypassed the ban, and why some crypto projects are still alive in China despite the crackdown. There are no official exchanges left—but the market is more alive than ever.