The People’s Courts exercise judicial power independently, free from interference by administrative organs and social organizations. These courts hear criminal, civil, administrative and cases involving economic disputes.
According to a local daily, the report, titled “Identification of Property Attributes of Virtual Currency and Disposal of Property Involved in the Case,” acknowledged that virtual assets have economic attributes and therefore can be classified as property. Although China considers all foreign digital assets illegal through a blanket ban, the report argues that under the current policy framework, virtual assets held by individuals should be considered legal and protected by law.
The report also added suggestions to deal with crimes involving virtual assets, and pointed out that since the money and property involved in the case cannot be confiscated, it should be based on the unified criminal and civil order. Such cases should be treated differently to achieve a balanced protection of personal property rights and social public interests.
China has imposed a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency-related activities and banned foreign cryptocurrency exchanges from providing services to mainland clients. However, despite the state’s hostile policy towards virtual assets, Chinese courts have taken a very different stance on Bitcoin and other virtual assets over the years.
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The discrepancy first emerged in September 2022, when a lawyer said that despite the ban on cryptocurrencies, holders of cryptocurrencies in China are still legally protected in the event of theft, embezzlement or breach of loan agreements . Later in May 2022, a court in Shanghai confirmed that Bitcoin qualifies as virtual property and is therefore subject to property rights.
China’s hostile stance against bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is long-standing. In recent years, however, the government’s stance appears to have softened. This is evident from the rise in the share of Bitcoin mining in China, which dropped to zero after the ban was lifted but rose to second place within a year.Likewise, Binance
The People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China released a report on the legality of virtual assets, analyzing the criminal law attributes of these digital assets. The court pointed out in the report that under the current legal policy framework, virtual assets are still legal property and are protected by law.
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