China’s District Court declares Bitcoin (BTC) as Virtual Property

Shanghai Minhang Court has announced the status of Bitcoin as digital property. The court has argued that BTC is a virtual asset that is disposable, exchangeable, and exclusive.

Bitcoin Exchange Value as property to become a virtual asset

Yesterday, China’s District court published a detailed article on the protection of virtual property that is visible and intangible. The piece asserted Bitcoin’s exchange value as the reason for its status as digital property. It argues that the resources, property, and energy that holds adequate value for exchange, in turn, comes under the virtual property.

Shanghai Minhang Court highlighted that Bitcoin is a virtual product as it is obtained through legal labor. Additionally, it is disposable, exchangeable, and exclusive. Furthermore, by gaining the status of a virtual commodity, Bitcoin also achieves the value of the virtual property.

However, the court also mentioned BTC’s lack of monetary properties and its inadequate status to be used as a currency in the country. The article mentioned the absence of legal compensation and compulsion as the reason for BTC’s unregistered status as a currency in the market.

Bitcoin lawsuit’s surprising verdict in China’s District court

Chinese Journalist, Colin Wu reported on Twitter that the article states a case confirming BTC’s virtual property status. The filing portrays the online purchase of BTC mining rigs by the plaintiff from the defendant, as the origin point. The plaintiff later filed for a refund despite China’s crypto crackdown. The refund request states BTC mining rigs’ purchase as illegal, thereafter nullifying the purchase contract. However, the district court denies claims for a refund by referring to BTC as a virtual commodity.

The article disclosed a case in which the plaintiff purchased Bitcoin mining machines from the defendant through the Internet. Later, the plaintiff believed that the People's Bank of China had cracked down on Bitcoin and therefore the transaction was illegal and claimed that…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 18, 2021

District Court contradicts China’s stance on Bitcoin

With China’s expanding crypto crackdown, the district court’s article has come as a contradiction. The nation has not been sparing of crypto supporters, and Shanghai Minhang Court’s officials may be the next target. China’s authoritarian government is extending the crackdown by the shutdown of mining operations, and the miner’s migration.

The Chinese Central Bank has also imposed a ban on the operations of software companies involved in crypto trading, along with the Central Bank’s warning to Chinese businesses against offering any kind of office space to virtual currency businesses. Former exchange giants in China, Huobi, and OKCoin became the latest victim of the crackdown with the closure of their Beijing subsidiaries.