ChainCatcher report: The People’s Procuratorate of Licang District, Qingdao, Shandong Province, recently handled a Bitcoin theft case. The defendant, Zhang XX, obtained the recovery mnemonic while assisting an acquaintance in registering a cryptocurrency wallet, and subsequently transferred 107 BTC in multiple transactions, equivalent to over RMB 50 million at current market prices. Zhang claimed his actions constituted a “protective takeover,” but prosecutors found that he had transferred the stolen BTC through multiple exchanges and converted them into RMB 660,000. The Licang District Court sentenced Zhang to 10 years and 9 months in prison and imposed a fine of RMB 100,000 in its first-instance ruling; the appellate court upheld the original judgment. According to the report, the prosecuting attorney, strictly adhering to legal provisions and judicial policies, concluded after thorough analysis that although China’s regulatory framework does not recognize virtual currencies as legal tender, it does not deny their property attributes or prohibit citizens from legally holding or transferring them. Bitcoin requires investment in computational power, capital, and other resources to acquire, conferring economic value; rights holders can exercise exclusive control through private keys and mnemonics, meeting the core characteristics of “property” under criminal law and thus qualifying as an object of theft. Regarding the valuation of the stolen amount, since virtual currencies lack official pricing, the Licang District Procuratorate rejected market price estimates and instead used the actual proceeds from the disposal of the stolen assets—RMB 660,000—as the theft amount, ensuring accurate conviction, appropriate sentencing, and consistency between the crime, its severity, and the punishment.
Chinese man sentenced to 10 years and 9 months for stealing 107 BTC from acquaintance
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Summary
A man in Qingdao was sentenced to 10 years and 9 months in prison and fined 100,000 RMB for stealing 107 BTC from an acquaintance. Zhang used the victim’s mnemonic phrase to siphon funds while assisting them in setting up a wallet, converting 660,000 RMB through multiple exchanges. The court upheld the conviction, recognizing BTC as a hedge against inflation and its status as a criminal asset. The ruling reaffirmed that Bitcoin, being controllable via private keys, is protected under CFT and theft laws.
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