China has been a rather chaotic place for Bitcoin (BTC) investors, traders, and miners for years, with the country making headlines in 2013 for banning activity related to the cryptocurrency.
The ban has, however, not been total and BTC has maintained a presence in China throughout the years.
Additionally, contrary to popular perception, the People’s Republic has been very involved with investigating and developing blockchain technology, as best exemplified by the work done on the digital yuan but also by other actions such as the release of plans for national Web3 development in late 2023.
In 2024, China will continue work on developing a comprehensive framework for handling cryptocurrencies with the latest chapter taking place in Nanjing in late April.
Bitcoin set to officially be recognized as property in China
The seminar in question, hosted by the Nanjing People’s Procuratorate, was focused on assessing whether Bitcoin constitutes property and can, therefore, be subjected to laws pertaining to property crimes.
The conclusion was overwhelmingly that Bitcoin does have value and should be considered property, with additional discussion on how exactly it should be treated and how best to protect individuals who have suffered financial damage from actions such as BTC theft.
While the seminar opens the gates for further solidifying the coin’s legal status – at the time of publication, Bitcoin is ‘not completely banned,’ ‘not a contraband,’ and ‘can be traded and has economic value’ per a summary made by Colin Wu on X – a lot of attention has been given to how the value of BTC should be determined.
Ultimately, though the Nanjing seminar did not end the discussion on how cryptocurrencies should be handled and regulated in China, it constitutes a major milestone in guaranteeing a place for them in the country’s law and affording them a legal status.
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