Did a Shanghai Court Just Legalize Bitcoin in China?

Bitcoin has been very popular in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The cryptocurrency has also been very successful in neighbors South Korea and Japan.

Cryptocurrency policy in China has been varied, from allowing citizens and residents of mainland China to own cryptocurrencies to banning the asset class in 2021. A court ruling in Shanghai Municipality seems to have recently opened the door to Chinese citizens to own cryptocurrencies. like Bitcoin.

A court in China legalizes cryptocurrency ownership

Judge Sun Jie of the Shanghai Songjiang People’s Court laid out new cryptocurrency jurisprudence this week. The South China Morning Post reported Thursday that the court issued a ruling that clarifies the legality of cryptocurrency under Chinese federal law.

The Shanghai judge wrote that “it is not illegal for people to hold cryptocurrency” in China. In addition, the decision classified the asset class as a form of ownership.

Sun clarified that China’s strict regulations on disorderly behavior in cryptocurrency markets do not impose a total ban on ownership. In fact, these regulations only make sense if it is legal to have crypto in the country.

“This is why laws and regulations always maintain a high-pressure crackdown on speculative activities in cryptocurrency trading,” Sun wrote.

How to classify cryptocurrencies has plagued government financial regulators around the world since Bitcoin’s debut in 2009. The Internal Revenue Service, which collects federal income taxes, classifies crypto tokens as property in the US.

The Chinese Rushed into Bitcoin in 2024

The ruling could signal the start of a more tolerant cryptocurrency policy in China. Despite what many consider a crypto ban in the country, miners account for over 50% of the Bitcoin network’s hash power.

Meanwhile, Chinese Bitcoin investors with some technical savvy have been working around the law. Despite its dubious legal status, a few Chinese internet users have escaped a five-year inventory winter for the cryptocurrency.

The average price of Bitcoin on crypto exchanges consolidated above $98,300 at 6:00 a.m. Saturday in Beijing, China.

With volume steadily increasing as the price rose throughout the day and week, the world’s number one cryptocurrency has a veritable pressure cooker of a market. Many analysts expect a rise to a new ATH of $100,000 any day now.

The chief executive of financial advisory firm deVere Group, Nigel Green, said in an article that appeared in the Independent Friday: “The $100,000 milestone, which once looked bold, now looks conservative. I think bitcoin could reach to $120,000 in the first quarter of 2025 as the recovery gains strength.”

Polymarket, Ethereum’s largest betting market, on Thursday gave BTCUSD a 93% chance of reaching $100,000 in 2024 with $6.8 million in betting volume.

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