An article titled “Identification of the Property Attributes of Virtual Currency and the Disposal of Involved Property” has just been published on Chinese People’s Court Daily. The article analyzes the criminal law attributes of virtual currency, stating that virtual currencies have economic attributes and should be classified as property. The current legal policies have not classified virtual currencies as illegal items, therefore, under the existing legal policy framework, virtual currencies held by relevant entities in China are still considered legal property and are legally protected.
The article also recommends that involved funds should be treated based on a basic stance of legality. The author believes that for criminal acts involving virtual currencies, the involved funds should not be uniformly confiscated or returned. Instead, they should be treated separately based on a unified foundation of criminal and civil legal order, achieving a balanced protection of individual property rights and social public interests.