The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and seven regulatory agencies issued a joint statement on Friday prohibiting the unapproved issuance of Renminbi-pegged stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The directive applies to both onshore and offshore issuers, underscoring Beijing’s intent to keep financial instrumentation closely aligned with state policy while continuing to push the domestic CBDC ecosystem forward. The announcement, signed by the PBOC alongside the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, reiterates a posture that private crypto activities remain outside the formal financial system unless they receive explicit clearance. A translated version of the statement framed the policy as a guardrail against stablecoins that imitate fiat currency functions during circulation and use. “Stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies perform some of the functions of fiat currencies in disguise during circulation and use. No unit ...
Google worldwide search volume for “crypto” is hovering near a one-year low as investor sentiment cools amid a broad market downturn that has trimmed the crypto market’s total capitalization from a peak above $4.2 trillion to roughly $2.4 trillion. The global Google Trends reading for crypto sits at 30 out of 100, with the 12-month high of 100 last reached in August 2025 when market fervor and valuations were at their peak. In the United States, the pattern mirrors the wider trend but with its own rhythm: after a July high of 100, US search interest dipped below 37 in January and then rebounded to 56 in the first week of February. Taken together, these metrics paint a cautious mood among retail and institutional participants alike. Google search data has long been used by market observers as a proxy for investor interest and potential turning points, aligning with sentiment gauges such as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index. As liquidity has cooled and volatility has persisted, traders a...