China’s Supervision and Inspection Department of State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has urged lawmakers to pass new rules to regulate digital assets in the country.

Huang Hui, the agency’s deputy director, made the call at the 2022 Financial Street Forum. In her keynote speech, Hui called for a broader classification of virtual currencies into sections like “illegal payment settlement, illegal securities, or illegal tokens.”

According to the deputy director, the popularity of blockchain and stablecoins have continued to fuel the activities of underground banks in moving capital in and out of the country without the knowledge of regulatory agencies.