Despite the crackdown on the crypto industry, the Chinese authorities have not banned the ownership of digital assets. This was stated by the founder of the law firm Lesperance & Associates David Lesperanza in an interview Cointelegraph.
He noted that crypto exchanges are still banned in the country. However, the Chinese authorities recognize digital currencies as virtual property protected by law.
The lawyer referred to a recent court decision regarding a loan issued in Litecoin (LTC). Defendant Ding Hao failed to fully repay the 50,000 LTC he borrowed from Zhai Wenjie in 2015.
The process became the largest precedent in China regarding cryptocurrencies. In seven years, the price of Litecoin has risen by about 1800% from a quote of about $3 (CoinGecko).
On August 31, the Beijing Intermediate Court ruled that the defendant owed the plaintiff an amount in cryptocurrency. He dismissed Ding Hao’s arguments that the People’s Bank of China officially banned crypto transactions in 2021.
“The court confirmed that cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, are property, even if they are created in a virtual realm,” Lesperanza stressed.
According to him, the community should not draw “any specific positive conclusions” from the precedent. The case became a “routine dispute” over a commercial loan and was settled under property law, the lawyer added.
“To date, the possession of cryptocurrencies in China is not prohibited. […] But this does not make commercial trading in this type of property legal, since the government has specifically banned crypto exchanges, ”the lawyer said.
An anonymous source in the Chinese crypto industry disagreed with Lesperanza’s opinion. He said the central bank has never explicitly banned individuals from trading digital assets, although it would like to.
The interlocutor confirmed that many users in China faced blocking of bank cards that were used for over-the-counter trading in cryptocurrencies. According to him, financial institutions acted on their own initiative, considering all activities related to virtual assets illegal.
In December 2021, Chinese media reported that despite tighter regulation and the departure of major platforms, local investors have not given up on cryptocurrencies.
According to the Center for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge, in January, China returned to second place in the ranking of countries in terms of the share of bitcoin hashrate, second only to the United States. The figure of 21.1% coincided with assessment of the remaining mining capacities in the country by experts at the end of 2021.
Recall that in May, the Shanghai High Court classified digital gold as a virtual asset with economic value protected by law.
In 2019, a similar status was assigned to bitcoin by the court of the city of Hangzhou.
Read Cryplogger bitcoin news in our Telegram – Cryptocurrency news, courses and analytics.
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Despite the crackdown on the crypto industry, the Chinese authorities have not banned the ownership of digital assets. This was stated by the founder of the law firm Lesperance & Associates David Lesperanza in an interview Cointelegraph.
He noted that crypto exchanges are still banned in the country. However, the Chinese authorities recognize digital currencies as virtual property protected by law.
The lawyer referred to a recent court decision regarding a loan issued in Litecoin (LTC). Defendant Ding Hao failed to fully repay the 50,000 LTC he borrowed from Zhai Wenjie in 2015.
The process became the largest precedent in China regarding cryptocurrencies. In seven years, the price of Litecoin has risen by about 1800% from a quote of about $3 (CoinGecko).
On August 31, the Beijing Intermediate Court ruled that the defendant owed the plaintiff an amount in cryptocurrency. He dismissed Ding Hao’s arguments that the People’s Bank of China officially banned crypto transactions in 2021.
“The court confirmed that cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, are property, even if they are created in a virtual realm,” Lesperanza stressed.
According to him, the community should not draw “any specific positive conclusions” from the precedent. The case became a “routine dispute” over a commercial loan and was settled under property law, the lawyer added.
“To date, the possession of cryptocurrencies in China is not prohibited. […] But this does not make commercial trading in this type of property legal, since the government has specifically banned crypto exchanges, ”the lawyer said.
An anonymous source in the Chinese crypto industry disagreed with Lesperanza’s opinion. He said the central bank has never explicitly banned individuals from trading digital assets, although it would like to.
The interlocutor confirmed that many users in China faced blocking of bank cards that were used for over-the-counter trading in cryptocurrencies. According to him, financial institutions acted on their own initiative, considering all activities related to virtual assets illegal.
In December 2021, Chinese media reported that despite tighter regulation and the departure of major platforms, local investors have not given up on cryptocurrencies.
According to the Center for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge, in January, China returned to second place in the ranking of countries in terms of the share of bitcoin hashrate, second only to the United States. The figure of 21.1% coincided with assessment of the remaining mining capacities in the country by experts at the end of 2021.
Recall that in May, the Shanghai High Court classified digital gold as a virtual asset with economic value protected by law.
In 2019, a similar status was assigned to bitcoin by the court of the city of Hangzhou.
Read Cryplogger bitcoin news in our Telegram – Cryptocurrency news, courses and analytics.
Found a mistake in the text? Select it and press CTRL+ENTER
