Chinese Arbiter Says Crypto Crackdown Doesn’t Mean A BTC Ban

The Chinese Arbiter from Beijing tried to clarify the government’s stance on Bitcoin and stated that the world’s most controversial crypto ban is not a ban per se. In our latest bitcoin news today, we try and find out what exactly does a ban mean.

In an unprecedented move from the Chinese legal body, the Beijing Arbitration Commission or the Chinese arbiter, one of the nine government bodies that were initially established to police courts in 1995, issued a statement on bitcoin and its legal standing in a newsletter, saying that rather than enforcing a ban, China has no laws on Bitcoin. Instead, the Chinese law has strict regulations regarding “virtual property” and what exactly comprises non-tangible property on the Chinese soil. Bitcoin according to the Chinese arbiter, does not qualify as “virtual Property” because it has never been defined legally.

This goes against the verdict form an internet court back in 2019 where a judge ruled that Bitcoin was indeed a form of “virtual property” going as far as adding that it was “protected by Chinese laws.” Bitcoin and other tokens are extremely popular in China among the middle class where it is seen as a store of value. Clinics, restaurants, and stores in Japan and South Korea are often frequented by Chinese tourists and they are accepting Bitcoin and other tokens for a few years now.

The BJAC statement hinted that the crypto crackdown of September 2017 was overstated so rather than prohibiting all BTC-related activities, BTC could not be used as “legal tender” according to the BJAC. It added that Bitcoin could be used in equity transfers as long as it didn’t behave like a currency but remained a general property:

 “[Equity] transactions do not violate Chinese regulations and thus should be considered valid.”

However, the Beijing Arbitration commission stipulated that initial coin offerings remain illegal and clarified that the government’s stance on crypto exchanges and trading fiat to crypto and vice versa, are banned under Chinese laws.

China is one of the places in the world with the most strict crypto jurisdictions and regulations as it has not completely banned Bitcoin according to the Beijing Arbitration Commission, which is a non-profit arbitration organization. According to a report by the BAC Commission, China’s ban on bitcoin is more nuanced than some have actually believed and suggested. In the report, the BAC clarified that China’s legal stance on crypto-assets such as Bitcoin is not prohibited by the government.