China Puts Crypto on Its Anti-Corruption Hit List

China’s Communist Party adopted a resolution on Oct. 29 at its Fifth Plenum ordering investigators to pursue corruption involving virtual currency, blockchain, cross-border capital and middlemen described as white gloves. The measure was published Sunday and changes no law because crypto trading is already banned on the mainland; it exposes officials, their families and fixers to scrutiny over hidden digital or offshore wealth. It also calls for stronger Party oversight inside platform and high-tech companies. Former central-bank digital-currency official Yao Qian, placed under investigation in April 2024, took 2,000 Ethereum in 2018; those bribes were worth about 68.3 million yuan ($9.8 million) at Ethereum’s peak.