China’s Token Resellers Use Crypto Cards and Proxies to Access Claude

A gray market for artificial intelligence access in China relies on accumulated personal identities, cryptocurrency-backed payment cards, and proxy networks to obtain and sell access to Anthropic's Claude models, according to a report by The Information on October 5, 2026. The shadow ecosystem allows users to access frontier AI tools despite geographic availability restrictions enforced by Western AI vendors.

Identity Aggregation and USDT Payments

To register active Claude accounts, reseller networks gather pooled identity credentials and use virtual payment cards funded with the USDT stablecoin. These stored credentials and crypto-backed financial tools enable brokers to satisfy user verification and subscription billing checks required during account creation.

Routing Access via Proxy Networks

Once accounts are established, vendors direct client traffic and requests through proxy networks. This intermediary network infrastructure obscures the origin of incoming queries, enabling users in non-supported regions to connect to Claude endpoints without triggering automated location blocks.

Demand Within Technology Districts

The token reseller operations are active within primary commercial and academic hubs, such as Beijing's Haidian District. The area hosts a dense concentration of universities and technology companies, generating persistent demand for advanced foreign AI models among local developers and technical workers.

AI-generated editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.

Source: A look at China's gray market of token resellers, who use accumulated identities and USDT-funded cards to obtain Claude accounts and route them through proxies (The Information)

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