China's Ministry of State Security announced via its official WeChat that the anonymity of cryptocurrencies is effectively an illusion, and transactions can be traced if exploited for illegal crimes. The Ministry of State Security stated, "Blockchain transaction records are public and difficult to tamper with, allowing for the tracking of on-chain fund flows. Traces such as device information and IP addresses also remain during the fiat currency exchange process." It added, "In February, Chinese authorities reaffirmed their existing stance that BTC, ETH, USDT, etc., cannot be circulated as currency and related financial activities are deemed illegal."