Interpreting the Shanghai Court Ruling: Personal Holding of Bitcoin is Legally Protected

This Shanghai court ruling, after the second instance, is very rich in content and represents an update on the legal/policy significance of cryptocurrencies. There are the following insights: 1: Personal holding of Bitcoin is legal and compliant, and its commodity attributes are protected by law. 2: CMC market platform and other trading platforms are not recognized by our country's laws. 3: Furthermore, if cryptocurrencies are used as currency for purchases or exchanged for legal tender, they may also not be recognized by law.

In the first instance, the court ruled that Yan Dong and three others must jointly return 18.88 Bitcoins and 6,466 Skycoins to Peter and Wang Xiaoli. If they cannot return them, they must compensate according to the closing prices of Bitcoin and Skycoin published on CoinMarketCap.com on June 12, 2018, with Bitcoin priced at 42,206.75 yuan each and Skycoin at 80.34 yuan each.

Yan Dong and the other three were dissatisfied and appealed. In the second instance, Peter and Wang Xiaoli voluntarily gave up pursuing Skycoins but insisted on pursuing Bitcoins. The second-instance court made corresponding changes to the Skycoin-related content in the first-instance ruling, while upholding other parts of the ruling.

In the end, the law in the cryptocurrency realm remains in a semi-ambiguous state. Many issues are extensive and depend on different judicial authorities' understanding of virtual currencies. "A single pull affects the whole body"; seemingly similar cases, even if copying homework, may yield entirely different answers. It is advisable to consult professionals for advice before taking action.