It Turns Out That Bitcoin Is A Digital Asset Protected By The Chinese Government

Court in China declares Bitcoin protected. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA – The number one cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is a virtual asset that is legally protected in China. This was conveyed by the court in Shanghai.

The Shanghai High People's Court explained that cryptocurrencies have economic value. Therefore, Bitcoin is protected by Chinese law, as reported by Bitcoin.com News.

According to the court, bitcoin qualifies as a virtual asset protected by Chinese law despite a ban on cryptocurrency trading in China as local media, Sina reports.

"In actual trial practice, the People's Court has formed a unified opinion on the legal position of bitcoin, and identified it as virtual property," the court wrote in a notice on WeChat.

Further, the court explained that Bitcoin “has a certain economic value and according to the attributes of property, the rule of law of property rights is applied for protection.”

The statement marked the first time China's highest court has issued a ruling on a bitcoin case taking place in the country. The court statement refers to the case involving Cheng Mou who filed a lawsuit with the Shanghai Baoshan District People's Court on October 10, 2020, demanding that Mr. Shi Moumou return one of his bitcoins.

After the trial, the court ruled on February 23, 2021, that Shi must pay Cheng BTC within 10 days of the verdict. However, Shi refused to pay it. These conditions prompted Cheng to seek further redress from the local court system. The Baoshan Court then arranged for intermediation between the two parties.

Liu Yang, a lawyer with Beijing's Deheng Law Firm, told local media that the high court's statement would have strong significance as a reference for rulings for civil disputes involving bitcoin in the Shanghai area.

China is known as a country that is not friendly to cryptocurrencies. But in the context of the Cheng Mou case, Bitcoin is a digital asset that gets legal protection.

In 2021, the government expelled Bitcoin miners operating in a number of provinces. This forced miners to turn to Kazakhstan and the United States.