The Chinese court recognizes Bitcoin as virtual property, so it is subject to property rights.
The Shanghai Supreme People’s Court has just released a document stating that Bitcoin is subject to property rights laws and other regulations. This decision was made as part of a lawsuit filed in the world court in October 2020 to recover a loan of 1 bitcoin (BTC). The court found Bitcoin to be valuable, rare and disposable, subject to property rights and meeting the definition of virtual property.
Chinese court recognizes bitcoin as virtual property
According to the Sina website, the Shanghai Baoshan District People’s Court ruled in favor of plaintiff Cheng Mou, asking defendant Shi Moumu to return the bitcoin in question. The defendant did not comply, the file was sent back to the court, which conducted the mediation in May 2021. And since the defendant no longer owns this bitcoin, the two parties agreed that the defendant offers compensation in the amount of less than the value of the bitcoins at the time of the contract for this loan.
Unfortunately, the value of this borrowed bitcoin cannot be ascertained as bitcoin transactions are illegal in China. The case has also been complicated by the limitations of the investigation by the court and the authorities, who cannot request virtual property, according to Chinese media.
Therefore, property rights apply to it.
China began cracking down on cryptocurrency transactions and stepped up its efforts in 2017. The government then gradually disconnected crypto miners from the power grid and tried to keep them out of the crypto markets. The government now seems to be more focused on “illicit NFT-related financial activities.”
Meanwhile, China is the first country in the world to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The digital yuan was, so to speak, widely used for the first time, despite restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.