Chinese Court Declares Virtual Assets Legally Protected Properties

Virtual Assets in China

A People’s Court in China recently released a report on the legality of virtual assets. The court concluded that, under current legal policy, virtual assets are still considered legal property and are protected by law.

The People’s Courts of the People’s Republic of China are independent judicial bodies, not subject to interference from any administrative or public organization. These courts handle criminal, civil, administrative, and economic cases.

The report, titled “Identification of the Property Attributes of Virtual Currency and Disposal of Property Involved in the Case”, acknowledged that virtual assets have economic attributes and thus can be classified as property. Although foreign digital assets are illegal in China, the report argued that virtual assets held by individuals should be considered legal and protected by law.

The report also suggested how to deal with crimes involving virtual assets. It said that, since the money and property involved in the case cannot be confiscated, it should be based on the unification of criminal and civil law. This would ensure a balanced protection of personal property rights and social and public interests.

AI in China

In 2022, the Chinese government imposed a ban on all crypto-related activities in the country, prohibiting foreign crypto exchanges from offering their services to mainland customers. Despite this hostile national policy on digital assets, the Chinese courts have taken a different stance on Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.

In September 2022, a lawyer suggested that crypto holders in China are legally protected in case of theft, misappropriation or breach of a loan agreement, despite the ban on crypto. Later in May 2022, a Shanghai court affirmed that Bitcoin qualifies as virtual property and is subject to property rights.

China’s attitude towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been negative for a long time. However, in recent years, the government appears to have softened its stance. This was evidenced by the rise in China’s Bitcoin mining share, which dropped to zero after the blanket ban, but rose to take the second spot within a year.

This article can be collected as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show support for independent journalism in the crypto space.