virtual

Recently, the police in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, investigated a virtual currency money laundering case. The criminal gang used "free credit card repayment" as bait to attract ordinary users to provide accounts. They received illicit funds from overseas gambling and fraud through false consumption, then contacted currency dealers to exchange for virtual currency and transferred it to designated addresses abroad. Through financial and on-chain data analysis, the police identified nearly a thousand involved accounts, with suspects distributed across Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Chongqing, and other regions.The Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China stated that it is currently using large model technology to analyze the flow of funds in virtual currency transactions, restore the gang's trading patterns, and uncover clues related to illegal industries. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that seven members of the gang were illegally engaged in payment settlement business without approval from relevant national authorities, constituting the crime of illegal operation, and were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from one year and two months to two years and six months, along with fines.Using virtual currency for money laundering is a new type of money laundering crime that has emerged in recent years. Lv Wei, the president of the Inner Mongolia branch of the People's Bank of China, stated that enhancing the monitoring and identification capabilities for abnormal fund transactions related to virtual currency trading has helped successfully crack down on a major money laundering case involving virtual currency pyramid schemes, dismantling more than ten money laundering and points-running dens, and confiscating illegal gains of approximately 130 million yuan. In recent years, there have been coordinated efforts to promote the conviction and sentencing of four cases involving money laundering using virtual currency, forming a strong deterrent against illegal activities such as money laundering with virtual currency.

According to a report by the Korean News Agency, Jeong Dae-sik, a representative of the People Power Party (the largest opposition party in South Korea), stated that the government needs to re-examine the establishment plan of the "Future Response Fund" funded by excess tax revenue, as well as the taxation system for virtual assets (digital assets).Jeong Dae-sik stated that excess tax revenue is temporary, and once spending increases, it is difficult to reduce. Therefore, priority should be given to alleviating the tax burden on the public. Regarding the taxation of virtual assets scheduled to be implemented in January next year, he called for a postponement or abolition, stating that forced taxation could lead to capital flowing to places like Hong Kong and Singapore.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced that the licensed virtual asset trading platform DFX Labs Company Limited reported "dfx[.]cn", "dfxcn[.]com", and other four websites as fraudulent websites. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has listed the relevant websites as suspicious virtual asset trading platforms.

On September 22, the House of Representatives of Jamaica began reviewing the "Virtual Assets Service Providers Act," which aims to establish a licensing and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges and other virtual asset service providers, and to ensure compliance with international standards such as anti-money laundering.The bill stipulates that businesses providing virtual asset services to Jamaican consumers, regardless of their headquarters location, must obtain a license from the Financial Services Commission (FSC); operating without a license will constitute a criminal offense. Licensed entities must also fulfill obligations such as customer identity verification, transaction monitoring, and reporting suspicious activities.Jamaica's Minister of Finance Fayval Williams stated that FSC licensing only regulates business operations and does not constitute official recognition or guarantee of the digital assets being traded. The Jamaican dollar remains the only legal tender in the country, and the FSC will be authorized to license, supervise, and shut down non-compliant virtual asset businesses.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea and opposition party members, along with industry groups, jointly called for the postponement of the cryptocurrency tax plan scheduled to take effect in January 2027.A member of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, Min Byeong-deok, stated that initiating taxation before the establishment of the Basic Act on Digital Assets lacks sufficient legal and institutional foundation, and the mechanisms for tracking income from overseas exchanges and loss carryforwards are still inadequate.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced that the licensed virtual asset trading platform DFX Labs Company Limited reported "dfx.cn", "dfxcn.com", and two other websites as fraudulent sites. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has listed the relevant websites as suspicious virtual asset trading platforms.

The Hong Kong Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, expanding regulatory cooperation beyond the oversight of financial reporting and related auditing work of listed entities.This includes the financial and compliance reporting of licensed corporations, SFC-licensed virtual asset service providers, SFC-recognized funds, and registered open-ended fund companies, as well as the related auditing and assurance work conducted by their auditors.

According to Digital Asset, Yoon Jong-joon, the digital financial policy officer of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, stated that they are considering introducing a market maker system for the virtual asset market to enhance market efficiency and stability. Although the current "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" prohibits market-making activities, this move indicates that the FSC intends to revisit and consider the introduction of this mechanism in the second phase of the legislative process.Yoon Jong-joon also mentioned that exchanges need to have sufficient capital and operational capabilities, and core functions (such as transaction execution, trading support, and abnormal trading monitoring) may shift from self-regulatory oversight to public regulation; governance rules related to major shareholders and management are expected to be strengthened; after the bill is enacted, it is expected to promote business diversification, the establishment of a trustworthy trading environment, a digital asset issuance and disclosure system, a Korean won stablecoin, and enhanced user protection, among other things.

The Ministry of State Security's WeChat public account published an article titled "Is Virtual Currency Crime Untraceable? Think Again!" stating that virtual currency has become an important tool for criminals engaging in illegal activities. The associated risks include being a "hotbed" for money laundering crimes, a "shelter" for cyber attacks, and an "accomplice" for espionage and theft. The article argues that the so-called "anonymity" of virtual currency is fundamentally a false proposition.The article states that blockchain is open and transparent, on-chain data is immutable, and complete transaction records are preserved, which can provide a basis for full-chain traceability. Address anonymity is merely a temporary separation of wallet addresses from real identities, and fiat currency exchanges leave traces such as device codes and network IPs. The article summarizes this as examining the ledger, checking the chain, and discussing the private key: the entire transaction leaves traces, making it difficult to hide real identities; if the private key is kept by the individual, it cannot be recovered if lost, while if it is entrusted to a platform, there is a risk of platform bankruptcy or disappearance.The article also mentions that in February 2026, the People's Bank of China and several departments reiterated that Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and others should not and cannot be used as circulating currency, and related activities are classified as illegal financial activities, which are strictly prohibited. The article warns to be cautious of high-paying part-time jobs that settle in virtual currency and states that reports can be made through 12339, www.12339.gov.cn, the Ministry of State Security's WeChat public account, or local national security agencies.

According to official news, Reap, a payment company under Kraken's parent company Payward, has launched a Virtual Asset Ledger. Users of exchanges, wallets, new banks, and financial technology platforms can directly use their virtual asset balances such as BTC to make purchases with the Visa card issued by Reap, with conversions completed at real-time exchange rates during payment, without the need to pre-convert to stablecoins.Reap data shows that by July 2026, the card consumption amount paid with virtual assets will reach 1.04 billion USD.

According to Binance spot market data, the market has experienced significant fluctuations. PHA has dropped by 17.42% in 24 hours, while VIRTUAL has risen by 27.16% in 24 hours, reaching a new high for the week.In addition, ALICE, FIL, FLUX, STG, HAEDAL, and ZAMA have all shown a "high pullback" status, with declines of 7.42%, 5.45%, 6.12%, 5.64%, 6.61%, and 13.02% respectively. Meanwhile, LDO has shown a "bottom rebound" status, with an increase of 6.3%, and TIA has slightly risen by 11.44% within 2 hours.

The People's Bank of China today reiterated in its financial education campaign that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether do not have legal tender status and cannot be used for currency circulation; conducting virtual currency-related businesses within the country is considered illegal financial activity and is strictly prohibited.The People's Bank of China stated that without the consent of relevant authorities, domestic entities and their controlled overseas entities are not allowed to issue virtual currencies abroad, and no units or individuals, whether domestic or foreign, are permitted to issue stablecoins pegged to the Renminbi abroad. The People's Bank reminds the public not to participate in virtual currency issuance, trading, investment, or mining activities, to be wary of high-yield investment scams, and to avoid renting out bank cards, payment accounts, or participating in virtual currencies.In addition, the People's Bank advises caution against virtual currency investment products and trading platforms that claim "guaranteed profits" or "high interest"; not to participate in virtual currency issuance, trading, investment, or "mining" activities; not to join communities promoting virtual currency activities, not to click on links containing overseas virtual currency trading platforms, or download related apps; not to lend or rent out bank cards or payment accounts, not to buy or sell virtual currencies "on behalf of others" as instructed, and not to act as "drivers," "currency dealers," or "U merchants"; and to report any clues related to virtual currency business activities to the relevant regulatory authorities in a timely manner.

According to a report from the Public Security Bureau of Linwu County, Hunan Province, on August 19, 2026, the Public Security Bureau of Linwu County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province discovered fraud clues during routine inspections and successfully cracked a virtual currency investment fraud case, arresting two criminal suspects.Upon investigation, on May 1, 2026, the suspect Li met the victim, Ms. Yue, through private messages on a social platform, falsely claiming to teach virtual currency investment skills with guaranteed profits. He induced her to download a certain app to purchase Tether (USDT) and then exchange it for a newly issued virtual currency manipulated by his "superior." Li, in collusion with his "superior," created the illusion of rising prices to lure the victim into increasing her investment; once the funds were in place, they quickly crashed the market, causing the virtual currency's value to drop to zero. Ms. Yue lost approximately 30,000 yuan, while Li illegally profited tens of thousands of yuan, which was collected by his friend Lei and squandered.On August 19, the investigating police arrested Li; on September 17, Lei, who was suspected of collecting the stolen funds, was also apprehended. Both have been criminally detained according to the law. The police remind: virtual currency is not legal tender, and there are no "guaranteed profit" projects. Recommendations for high returns made through private messages online are all fraud traps. Do not easily trust investment recommendations from strangers or transfer money to unfamiliar platforms.

According to Criptonoticias, the Bolivian government has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to establish a regulatory and supervisory framework for virtual assets to curb illegal capital outflows and strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing mechanisms. Currently, the relevant documents have not yet specified the implementation time, competent authority, and specific legislative form.Meanwhile, the government is assessing the feasibility of incorporating Tether (USDT) into the national payment system.

Virtuals Protocol announced the launch of Occupy, a product that serves as a launch platform deployed on Base. Each token on Occupy is paired with a tokenized stock, and all tokens corresponding to the same stock are collectively injected into the same treasury, which is managed by a ten-seat AI Senate elected by the holders.40% of each fee is used to purchase the paired stock and inject it into the treasury. The Senate can decide to hold the stock, allocate stock to holders, or repurchase tokens, and operate the community X account. Candidates must publish their ideas and declarations, and holders vote to decide the seats. Creators can receive 30% of each fee.

According to Digital Assets, South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister nominee Lee Hyeong-jin stated at a parliamentary hearing that taxing virtual assets poses a relatively small burden for most investors and is not expected to have a significant impact on the market.Data shows that about 95% of investors hold assets of less than 5 million Korean Won; when the acquisition cost cannot be proven, 50% of the income can be considered necessary expenses, plus a basic deduction of 2.5 million Korean Won, resulting in a limited actual tax burden for small investors.

According to a report by Sina Finance, Lin Junxian, a former client manager of China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited, admitted to conspiring with an employee of a financial technology company and his accomplices to accept bribes, totaling over 470,000 US dollars in cryptocurrency "Tether." They illegally certified multiple false documents without the bank's authorization to secure several insurance-related investment transactions.An internal investigation by China Construction Bank (Asia) uncovered the incident, which was subsequently reported to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) along with full cooperation. Judge Lin Jianhong has postponed the sentencing of the case to September 18, during which the defendant will remain in custody under the Correctional Services Department.

The final rules from the Central Bank of Brazil for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) set the minimum capital requirement based on business and risk at approximately 10.8 million to 37.2 million Brazilian Reais (approximately 2.11 million to 7.2 million US dollars), significantly higher than the 1 million to 3 million Brazilian Reais range (approximately 195,000 to 586,000 US dollars) in the consultation draft, and adds requirements for governance, internal controls, anti-money laundering, auditing, and ongoing reporting.Industry estimates suggest there are currently about 150 to 300 related companies, with around 20 to 25 meeting the conditions or willing to apply, and ultimately only about 10 may obtain licenses. Some small platforms have ended or restructured their retail operations.

Some criminal gangs use "free credit card repayment" as bait to lure ordinary people into providing credit card and identity information. They then launder illegal funds from overseas gambling, telecom fraud, and other activities by fabricating consumption and other means, and subsequently contact currency dealers to exchange for virtual currency to transfer abroad.