Bitcoin status is “legal” in China: Hangzhou court approves BTC ownership

It gives us a great pleasure to bring it to our readers the Bitcoin status is “legal” in China now. While a lot has been discussed about Bitcoin’s status and store of value, the ancient city of Hangzhou in China steps up to confirm the digital currency’s identity as “virtual property”.

The city’s court recently ruled in favor of the cryptocurrency’s legal status, stating that its transactions and dealings are very much protected under the law.

As many analysts ascertain the country’s change in outlook towards cryptocurrencies, People’s Bank of China affirmed that BTC is indeed given the status of a property, however, not made a fiat currency.

The case that changed Bitcoin’s identity

The first glimpses of Bitcoin property violation case were made public in 2013 when the complainant, who purchased two thousand nine hundred dollars ($2900) worth BTC from a dodgy marketplace in Taobao, appealed to the court for not being able to access the store or his account.

Apparently, the shoddy online marketplace, purportedly owned by Shanghai Technology Company, shut down its services without informing its customers, following the widespread ban on cryptocurrency trading.

Unfortunately, with limited evidence for the owner’s identity and liability, the case was dismissed by the court, thereby leading to a loss of worth eleven thousand dollars ($11000) in BTC.

Bitcoin gets a legal status

Nonetheless, in what is being viewed as a framework for similar cases going forward, the local court has ruled in favor of Bitcoin’s legality and approved its transactions and ownerships. According to the statement, anybody who sells, buys or deals in Bitcoins will be safeguarded by the law. 

Undoubtedly, China is one of the biggest and most influential marketplaces for Bitcoins. Although its mining operations still come under the government’s radar recurrently, the court ruling is nothing less than a historic event in the cryptocurrency’s legality and adoption.