China proposes framework to tighten crypto money laundering

Chinese prosecutors have proposed a comprehensive new legal framework to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of cryptocurrency money laundering, aiming to close significant gaps in the country's enforcement capabilities. The proposals, detailed in a theoretical article published in the official newspaper of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on July 12, 2026, recommend presumptions of criminal intent for users of privacy tools, updated standards for blockchain evidence, and the creation of a national platform for managing seized digital assets.

The article, authored by prosecutors from Hunan Province and an academic from Xiangtan University, carries no immediate legal force but signals a concerted push within the judicial system to adapt to blockchain-based financial crime. It identifies a structural mismatch in China's current laws: while the Anti-Money Laundering Law has broadened, the Criminal Law's dedicated money laundering offense still applies to only seven specific categories of upstream crime. In practice, this has forced prosecutors to pursue many crypto laundering cases under a broader "concealment" charge, which the authors describe as an overextended catch-all.