Web3 practitioners are most concerned about legal security. The clown who attracted traffic yesterday and their project has already been blacklisted and blocked.
I have整理了 the official policies to objectively understand and not panic:
Although it is unrealistic to open up, legislation on cryptocurrencies in mainland China is actually on the way, especially with the passage of the US GENIUS stablecoin regulatory bill and Hong Kong's stablecoin regulatory bill, along with the potential passage of the future CLARITY bill, which is likely to accelerate this process.
This year, the Central Political and Legal Work Conference clearly proposed to conduct legislative research on multiple emerging fields, including virtual currencies. The research coincides with the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
If you pay attention to the major judicial research topics from the Supreme Court over the past two years, you will find that every year there is content related to 'virtual currency':
The topic for 2024 is 'Research on the Disposal Issues of Virtual Currencies Involved in Cases'. The participating research groups are located in Chongqing, Beijing, and Shenzhen. The 2023 topic is 'Research on the Legal Nature and Judicial Protection Path of Virtual Property'. The participating research groups are located in Guangzhou, Yancheng in Jiangsu, and Chengdu, all key areas in the cryptocurrency space. Generally, research support is often conducted in the form of related topics before legislation.
The 2024 topic will only conclude in the fourth quarter of this year, but the 2023 topic has already concluded in December last year.
The Guangzhou Internet Court held a press conference in April this year titled 'Analysis of Civil Judicial Protection Paths for Internet Virtual Property and Typical Case News Release', and released the 'Research and Analysis Report on the Legal Nature and Civil Judicial Protection Paths of Internet Virtual Property' and 'Top Ten Typical Cases of Internet Virtual Property Disputes', which are essentially the results of the research.
The report categorizes NFTs and cryptocurrencies as network construction-type virtual properties, qualifying them as a type of creation, which includes both data creation and value creation. The value is virtual, possessing characteristics of both property rights and creditor rights, allowing rights holders to exercise exclusive possession, use, profit, or disposition of virtual property.
The acknowledgment of cryptocurrency as property rights is beneficial for holders, providing a greater sense of security. However, do not be overly optimistic; the report still mentions that disputes over the value recognition of virtual property related to cryptocurrencies are likely to generate financial risks. It calls for cooperation among regulatory departments to strengthen risk prevention in key areas such as NFT digital collections and digital currencies, and to crack down on speculation and illegal activities.
Moreover, there is a typical case released simultaneously that concerns the lack of legal protection for cryptocurrency investment and trading activities. In other words, while holding cryptocurrencies is acknowledged, if there are disputes due to investment transactions, the courts will not accept the case.
This has also been the consistent attitude of judicial rulings in recent years. Legislation is likely heading in this direction: acknowledging property rights allows for the legal disposal of confiscated coins while imposing restrictions on investment and trading activities.