China's judiciary authorities accelerate research on legal treatment of crypto amid ban

China's legal authorities are accelerating their studies on tackling crypto-related legal cases, as the country continues to enforce its ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining on the Chinese mainland.

A Beijing court disclosed on Tuesday that representatives from the Supreme People's Court and several other top judiciary authorities and universities held a seminar on Sunday to discuss research studies and the legal treatment of cryptocurrency.

One research project, led by Yang Dong, a law professor at Renmin University of China, focuses on how to handle crypto involved in legal cases, which he claims can help improve the domestic crypto regulatory system. Such cases often involve "national financial security issues," the scholar noted. The Tuesday statement did not provide more details on specific measures.

The seminar also urged further study on strengthening cooperation between judicial and regulatory agencies and proposed practical solutions for handling cases involving cryptocurrencies. 

The acceleration of judiciary research on crypto comes as the country continues to ban crypto trading on the mainland. In September 2021, the central bank and several other central authorities issued a notice banning all crypto trading and mining activities on the mainland. Hong Kong, however, has opened its doors to crypto firms .

In December, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, highlighted crypto regulation in its latest annual financial stability report, noting that it is working to improve an international regulatory framework for crypto assets.