In September 2017, China conducted a nationwide blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, exchanges, and ICOs.
This had a global impact. After all, before the crackdown, the country of the red dragon accounted for nearly 80 percent of the world’s crypto transactions and ICOs and housed the biggest crypto mining operations. So what happened after the ban?
Well, cryptocurrency development didn’t stop. The miners moved, most going to Mongolia. ICOs registered in Singapore. And the big Chinese exchanges just moved to Japan or Hong Kong. So what’s up with China?
Hope on the Horizon
There is hope on the horizon for miners, investors, and exchanges both in and outside China. As I said, just because the government banned crypto (even if it is the government of the most populous country in the world) doesn’t mean development stopped. Because of this fact, a few new developments have surfaced.
Bitcoin as Actual Property
A business conflict arose over the holding and transferring of crypto assets in China. An unnamed plaintiff signed a contract that allowed the defendant to manage, trade, and invest in a pool of cryptocurrencies on behalf of the plaintiff. As things sometimes go in business, the deal went belly up, and the defendant refused to return the plaintiff’s cryptocurrencies.
A local news outlet reported on a ruling by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, which decided that cryptocurrencies must be legally protected “by law due to its property nature and economic value.”[1]
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The Shenzhen Court decided that Bitcoin and other crypto assets should be legally protected by China’s Contract Law, even if crypto is considered illegal tender in the country: “
