A recent ruling by the Shanghai Songjiang People’s Court has clarified that owning cryptocurrencies is not illegal in China. Their use is strictly limited to personal ownership and as commodities, not as legal tender or investment tools. The Judge explained that Chinese law does not explicitly prohibit holding cryptocurrencies and that virtual currencies lack the legal status of official tender but hold property value as virtual commodities.
Although it is not illegal for an individual to simply hold virtual currency, commercial entities cannot participate in virtual currency investment transactions or even issue tokens on their own at will.
