“Lawyer: The 2026 New Rules on Pleading Guilty and Accepting Punishment Reshape the Judicial Landscape of Criminal Cases in the Cryptocurrency Circle” (Author Liu Yang)

The 2026 rules on pleading guilty and accepting punishment, together with Document No. 42, usher cryptocurrency cases into a new stage characterized by stricter sentencing standards, tiered and more lenient treatment, and a front-loaded focus on recovering proceeds.

Key takeaways: Genuine acceptance of punishment must include truthful admissions and cooperation with on-chain asset tracing and the return of unlawful gains; limits for leniency for serious offenses are tightened while the scope of leniency for minor offenses is expanded; the requirement of subjective knowledge must be supported by evidence, leading to stricter application; sanctions for retracting guilty pleas and the standards for non-prosecution are further refined.

With the implementation of differentiated handling for six major crime categories, defense focus shifts to sentencing negotiations and overall asset coordination, improving the efficiency of recovering illicit funds and enhancing governance effectiveness.

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