Frequent Cases of Cross-Border Exchange Currency with Stablecoins: How Regulatory Policies Respond to New Financial Instruments

Recently, the People's Court of Pudong New Area in Shanghai announced a major cross-border illegal Exchange Currency case involving 6.5 billion yuan. The case used stablecoins such as USDT as a medium to achieve large-scale cross-border fund transfers. The frequent occurrence of such cases highlights the challenges faced by the existing regulatory system in dealing with new financial instruments.

Stablecoins, due to their technical characteristics, can break through many limitations of traditional Exchange Currency, such as quota restrictions, capital pool pressure, and timeliness of funds arrival. This makes them a favored tool in the black and gray industries. However, relying solely on policy suppression is unlikely to fundamentally solve the problem.

From the perspective of law enforcement practice, the current crackdown strategy has some limitations:

1. Often only peripheral figures can be caught, making it difficult to reach the core of the criminal network.

2. The main criminal suspects often flee abroad, making transnational law enforcement difficult.

3. The assets involved mostly exist in the form of virtual currency abroad, making recovery difficult.

4. Law enforcement personnel have insufficient understanding of relevant technologies, which affects the effectiveness of case handling.

5. The lack of a systematic regulatory framework has led to fragmented law enforcement actions.

At the same time, we must also recognize the positive role of stablecoins in areas such as cross-border trade settlement and supply chain finance. The United States, Hong Kong, and other regions are actively exploring regulatory frameworks for stablecoins, aiming to seek a balance between risk control and innovative development.

Future regulatory policies need to improve in the following areas:

1. Strengthen research on new financial technologies and enhance the professional quality of law enforcement personnel.

2. Build a systematic regulatory framework to clarify the legal status of stablecoins.

3. Explore controllable compliance paths to guide stablecoin applications in legal scenarios.

4. Strengthen international cooperation to address the challenges posed by cross-border crime.

5. Balance security and efficiency, leaving moderate space for financial innovation.

In summary, in the face of the challenges posed by new financial instruments, we need a more open and inclusive regulatory approach, responding to technological changes through institutional innovation to achieve the long-term stability and security of the financial system.