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China's government has renewed its anti-crypto stance, vowing to intensify its crackdown on digital assets, including stablecoins.

Officials in Beijing say that cryptocurrencies lack the legal status of money and cannot be used as currency in Mainland China financial markets.

As such, all related activities qualify as illegal financial operations, including trading of digital assets such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC ) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: $ETH ), and cryptocurrency mining.

The renewed government crackdown was announced over the weekend by China's Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

The renewed anti-crypto stance, which does not apply to China's "special economic zone" of Hong Kong, comes amid a surge in speculative crypto trading, said government officials.

Beijing has long held an anti-crypto stance, targeting both mining operations and trading in digital assets. However, enforcement actions against crypto had grown lax in recent years.

As such, China has re-emerged as the world's third-largest Bitcoin mining hub.

Officials in Beijing warned that stablecoins, tokens whose value is tied to another asset such as gold or the U.S. dollar, also lack proper regulations and contribute to money laundering and fraud.

The position of China's government stands in stark contrast to the U.S., which increasingly favors crypto and stablecoins, and has adopted regulatory frameworks for digital assets.

Despite the renewed crackdown in Mainland China, Hong Kong operates under an autonomous, separate legal jurisdiction and is widely viewed as a leading cryptocurrency hub.

Hong Kong's government remains supportive of the crypto industry, with stablecoins taking centre stage at the recent Fintech Week conference in the Asian city.

BTC is currently trading at $85,750 U.S., having fallen nearly 10% this year.