AI image generator Midjourney has banned the creation of images featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping due to concerns over the proliferation of deepfakes, but users have found workarounds. The platform still allows the creation of images featuring other world leaders. Critics argue that the ban constitutes a form of censorship, undermining the fundamental principles of free speech and expression. Midjourney's CEO, David Holz, revealed in Discord comments that the firm had received complaints from local users about "various topics in different countries," prompting them to block numerous related words. Holz recognized that China was a particularly sensitive matter and the decision was not motivated by financial gain.

China's Guangdong province has started issuing digital yuan import tax refunds, with local treasury departments receiving and handling digital yuan tax refunds more efficiently. Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, and other areas in the digital yuan pilot zone have launched digital yuan payment and tax refund services for domestic value-added tax, corporate income tax, and other taxes. In Zhuhai, a man became the first Chinese citizen to pay parcel tax on a trade import from Macau using digital yuan, eliminating the time he might have spent waiting in line. The CBDC payment system improves the speed of transactions and expedites the passenger customs clearance process. Overseas digital yuan usage cases are being piloted in tests in Macau and Hong Kong.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it no longer operates in China and started to offer relocation assistance in 2021 for employees in the country who wished to remain with the company. The comments on Thursday in an emailed statement reiterate what the company has said before and came in response to a Financial Times article that cited internal documents and said the company had close ties with China despite claims it had left the country in 2017 following a government crackdown.

Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been accused of concealing ties to China for years, even after the Chinese government cracked down on the cryptocurrency industry in 2017. The accusations come as part of a larger investigation into Binance's operations and business practices.

Binance allegedly hid its links to China despite claims it had removed its business from the country in 2017, according to internal documents cited by the Financial Times. The report claimed that Binance instructed employees to hide its presence in China, used a Chinese bank to pay some employees' salaries, and had an office in use until the end of 2019. The company denied the allegations, stating that it does not operate in China or have any servers based in the country. The report comes as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission sues Binance for unregistered trading activity in the US, among other allegations. Since the announcement, Binance has seen $2.2 billion of cryptocurrency flow out of the exchange.

The Chinese government has been proactively pursuing advancements in its blockchain sector and aims to upgrade its industry development standards by 2025.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has published draft guidelines aimed at improving standards for blockchain technology development by 2025. The MIIT is calling for public opinion on the matter until April 28, and the guidelines fall in line with China's five-year plan for technological development. The plan includes blockchain as a target for digital industry growth, and in February, China announced plans for a new national blockchain research center to connect universities, developers, and blockchain businesses to research core blockchain technologies. Despite the government's claim that China makes up 84% of all blockchain applications filed worldwide, only 19% of filed applications have received approval. Nonetheless, China currently has over 1,400 companies operating in its blockchain industry.

A number of Chinese state-owned banks’ branches in Hong Kong have started offering services to local cryptocurrency companies, Bloomberg reported on Monday, as the city welcomes a growing list of cryptocurrency and digital asset firms looking to expand or relocate to the city. Local companies in the crypto industry have traditionally had difficulties setting up corporate bank accounts, and the moves of these state-owned lenders reflect China’s backing in trying to boost the digital asset industry in Hong Kong, according to the report. (forkast)

Nasdaq Inc. expects its custody services for digital assets to launch by the end of the second quarter as it joins a growing pool of traditional financial firms that could fill the role of crypto middlemen following a spate of bankruptcies in the industry.

A growing number of Chinese government city authorities, banks, and firms are looking to adopt the digital yuan as a payment tool – as the central bank digital currency (CBDC) rollout continues to intensify.