Legal provisions of virtual currency

2. With the rapid development of information instry in recent years, the Internet has entered the homes of ordinary people, and many people are not unfamiliar with virtual property. Small to the game equipment, virtual currency, big to QQ number, game account belongs to the category of virtual property. According to the calculation of relevant departments, last year, the scale of the domestic Internet virtual money market was more than 10 billion yuan, and this market is still growing at an annual rate of more than 20%. However, coins have two-sided properties, and the network itself has given birth to many unprecedented legal problems, which makes people at a loss. Such as network theft, right protection and other issues continue. According to the survey statistics of China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), "61% of the game players have experienced the theft of virtual property, and 77% of the game players feel that the current network environment is a threat to their virtual property.". These things that you and I are used to, for various reasons, may face illegal infringement and can not get right relief. The infringement of virtual property occurs from time to time, but most of them make the judicial authorities face such problems vaguely because of the lack of a clear and unified understanding in theory: either not to file a case, or to convict and sentence the defendant for the crime of infringing freedom of communication, or to sentence the defendant for the crime of theft. There are legal gaps in both civil and criminal aspects. From this point of view, the determination of the legal status of virtual property is the key to the problem. 2、 The legal status and necessity of virtual property there are two opposite views on the legal status of virtual property in China. The negative thinks that it has no value, only exists in the virtual society, and there is no need to protect it. The proponents think that the virtual property is obtained through personal labor, and there is no essential difference between the property that can circulate and the real social property, so it should be protected. In my opinion, under the current situation, it is necessary to bring virtual property into the scope of law 1 Virtual property has legal property attribute. 1. As a property, it must meet the following three conditions: first, it must have value; Second, there must be scarcity, that is, there must be no unlimited existence; Third, it must be legitimate. First of all, virtual property has value, which meets the requirements of value - undifferentiated human labor. The value of virtual property needs to consider time, money, intellectual skills, market supply and demand, game cycle, quantity and price of functional substitutes. Take QQ games as an example. These games all have levels. Players have to pay time and money to get to a higher level. The higher the level, the higher the value of this account in the market. Secondly, just like real objects, the equipment and game currency in the game are limited, and there are also specific objects and kinds of objects. As for legitimacy, that is obvious. 2. Virtual property has poured a lot of time, energy and money into the players. Although it can't be seen in the real society, it does exist. Just like the mobile phone number, it has positive significance for hundreds of millions of Internet users and can meet people's certain needs, including material and spiritual. In this respect, it is also in line with the nature of intangible property, which belongs to intellectual property (Liu Chuntian: Director of intellectual property teaching and research center of Renmin University of China). 3. Virtual property can be controlled by manpower, including deletion, modification, use and transfer. Therefore, virtual property has the property attribute in law 2 Virtual property transaction has a great impact on the real society. Mainly in two aspects: 1, the reality of a large number of virtual goods trading status. Online property such as game currency has initially been able to be exchanged with RMB, and some online game operators even take the sale of virtual property as their profit model (so this year, 14 ministries and commissions, including the Ministry of culture, jointly issued the notice on Further Strengthening the management of Internet cafes and online games). It is necessary to strengthen the regulation and management of virtual currency in online games, prevent the impact of virtual currency on the real economic and financial order, and limit the total amount of virtual currency. 2. Network theft of virtual property is also happening in large numbers. The current situation of network theft is that the theft mode of collectivization and instrialization endangers the survival of the Internet. Therefore, whether from the current situation of virtual goods trading or network theft, it shows the urgency of virtual property protection 3 It is the requirement of building a good faith and friendly society. Nowadays, the theft of property in reality has moved to the Internet, such as the theft of virtual property and other infringement events can not but be said to be a reflection of the real society. Since the Internet has been developing in China for a long time, we should try our best to purify this land. If we can effectively curb such behavior on the Internet, it will have a good role in promoting the construction of a good faith and friendly society. Containment can only be regulated by law. As a special property right of users, whether the network virtual property can be incorporated into the legal system of our country determines whether the judicial department can directly apply the laws of our country to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens. Therefore, it is necessary to correct the name of virtual property in law. Only when the name is correct, can we have the basis to formulate various laws and regulations to protect citizens' property more effectively. 3、 The protection of virtual property must admit that the protection of virtual property is still in the stage of theoretical exploration in China, and the debate has never stopped. In the face of this new phenomenon, it seems that it is not enough to only consider the traditional legal model. Therefore, we need to solve this problem with innovative thinking and appropriate reference to foreign advanced legal model 1 The interpretation and supporting provisions of the property law. People have high expectations for the recently passed property law, but there are no relevant provisions on virtual property in this law. For the lack of this aspect, we can consider to be reflected in the subsequent legislative or judicial interpretation, in order to improve the function of the property law, so that the law can protect citizens' property more thoroughly 2 Criminal law protection. We can consider adding charges or expanding the interpretation of property in the criminal law. As mentioned above, the judicial authorities have totally different opinions on the cases of infringement of virtual property. The same case but different qualitative may send a bad signal to the society. Under the existing legal framework of China, it is completely feasible to expand the interpretation according to a new situation 3 We should attach importance to the role of precedents. For example, after the first case of Internet theft in China was tried by Shenzhen court, it has played a good exemplary role for other courts to deal with similar issues. We can see that more and more courts recognize the legal status of virtual property and fictitious property. In the judgment of a local court in Jiangxi Province, it clearly recognized that virtual property belongs to the property protected by law. The court held that although there are still no relevant laws and regulations on the identification of virtual property in China, virtual property and real property have common interests in possession, use and income, which should also be protected by law 4 The way of administration. Government departments should also do a lot in this regard. We can formulate relevant laws and regulations to strengthen the management of network companies and Internet cafes, improve the registration system, make it clear that the legal network virtual property is protected by law, and punish the infringement of other people's legal network virtual property. Strictly implement the real name identity system of online games, and establish the reporting center for virtual property infringement 5 Some experiences of developed countries and regions are worth thinking and learning. Take South Korea, the most developed country of online games, as an example. When the game instry started to develop, it was also faced with the same confusion as we are now. It went to the two extremes of ignoring and over limiting, but it did not receive good results. After re examining the virtual transaction, South Korea finally recognized the legitimacy of virtual goods in law, and virtual transaction was also protected by law. Not long ago, South Korea proposed to further prohibit the intermediary services of virtual currency transaction, and formulated the "game instry revitalization law". Many developed countries and regions in the world, such as South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and so on, have clearly recognized the value of "network virtual property" in legislation and judicature, and have been regulated by criminal law, and there have been criminal judgments against infringement of network virtual property. Some countries make it clear that virtual property has independent property value, which is the same as the traditional meaning of "property", and include virtual property into the object category of traditional property crime; Some countries, such as Switzerland, have expanded the system of traditional property crimes and created new ones, such as the crime of illegally obtaining data. Law comes from life, but it is higher than life. When the problem comes, we can only deal with it actively, but not evade and let it go. We should play an active role in guiding and maintaining the law. The market scale has reached tens of billions of huge market, if the lack of effective legal management, the network world will enter a disordered state of chaos, and then spread to the real society, if not timely and properly solve this legal problem, it will have a great impact on the personal property of citizens and social stability, but also against the original intention and essential requirements of building a harmonious society.

3. There is no special regulation

4. There is no specific provision, but it can be combined with the corresponding laws. For example, if it constitutes unjust enrichment, it can be returned. If it constitutes a crime, the amount involved is also calculated according to the value of real currency. Generally speaking, virtual currency transactions on the Internet are protected by law. But there is no specific provisions, we can refer to the real currency to protect their own law and rights.

5. In order to protect the property rights and interests of the public, protect the legal tender status of RMB, prevent the risk of money laundering, and maintain financial stability, the people's Bank of China, the Ministry of instry and information technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the Recently, China Insurance Regulatory Commission jointly issued the notice of the Ministry of instry and information technology of the people's Bank of China, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on the prevention of bitcoin risk (YF [2013] No. 289, hereinafter referred to as the "notice")

the notice defines the nature of bitcoin, and holds that bitcoin is not issued by the monetary authority, has no monetary attributes such as legal compensation and compulsion, and is not a real currency. In terms of nature, bitcoin is a specific virtual commodity, which does not have the same legal status as currency and cannot and should not be used as currency in the market. However, bitcoin trading as a commodity trading behavior on the Internet, ordinary people have the freedom to participate at their own risk

the notice requires that at this stage, all financial institutions and Payment institutions shall not price procts or services with bitcoin, buy or sell bitcoin as a central counterparties, underwrite insurance business related to bitcoin or include bitcoin into the scope of insurance liability, and provide other bitcoin related services to customers directly or indirectly, Including: providing bitcoin registration, trading, clearing, settlement and other services for customers; Accept bitcoin or use bitcoin as a payment and settlement tool; Carry out bitcoin and RMB and foreign currency exchange services; Carry out bitcoin storage, custody, mortgage and other services; Issuing financial procts related to bitcoin; Take bitcoin as the investment target of trust, fund, etc

according to the notice, the bitcoin Internet website, as the main trading platform of bitcoin, shall be filed with the telecommunications administration according to the provisions of the Telecommunications Regulations of the people's Republic of China and the measures for the administration of Internet information services. At the same time, in view of bitcoin's high risk of money laundering and being used by criminals, the notice requires relevant institutions to perform the legal anti money laundering obligations such as customer identification and suspicious transaction report in accordance with the anti money laundering law of the people's Republic of China, so as to effectively prevent the money laundering risks related to bitcoin

in order to avoid excessive speculation of virtual commodities such as bitcoin in the name of "virtual currency" and damage the public interest and the legal tender status of RMB, the circular requires financial institutions and Payment institutions to correctly use the concept of currency in their daily work, pay attention to strengthening the ecation of the public's knowledge of currency, and correctly understand the concept of currency The concept of correctly treating virtual commodity and virtual currency, rational investment, reasonable control of investment risk, and maintenance of their own property security should be included in the content of financial knowledge popularization activities, so as to guide the public to establish a correct concept of currency and investment

in the future, the people's Bank of China will continue to pay close attention to the trend and related risks of bitcoin based on its own responsibilities End)

bitcoin home has an interpretation.

6. Is there a law? I don't think so

7. At present, the law is still blank, there is no relevant provisions, can only refer to the relevant provisions of the criminal law on theft.

8.

There is no law in China to ban bitcoin, so it is not illegal to mine and earn bitcoin

it is not illegal to buy bitcoin in China. In 2013, five ministries and commissions jointly issued the bitcoin risk notice, which states that although bitcoin does not belong to legal tender and is not legally compulsory, people can freely participate in bitcoin trading activities when they voluntarily undertake risks

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"notice" clearly defines the nature of bitcoin, and holds that bitcoin is not issued by the monetary authority, has no monetary attributes such as legal compensation and mandatory, and is not a real currency. In terms of nature, bitcoin is a specific virtual commodity, which does not have the same legal status as currency and cannot and should not be used as currency in the market

however, as a kind of commodity trading on the Internet, ordinary people have the freedom to participate in bitcoin trading at their own risk

the notice requires that at this stage, financial institutions and Payment institutions shall not price procts or services with bitcoin, buy or sell bitcoin as a central counterparties, underwrite insurance business related to bitcoin or include bitcoin in the scope of insurance liability, and provide other bitcoin related services to customers directly or indirectly, Including: providing bitcoin registration, trading, clearing, settlement and other services for customers; Accept bitcoin or use bitcoin as a payment and settlement tool; Carry out bitcoin and RMB and foreign currency exchange services; Carry out bitcoin storage, custody, mortgage and other services; Issuing financial procts related to bitcoin; Take bitcoin as the investment target of trust, fund, etc

in order to avoid over hype of virtual commodities such as bitcoin in the name of "virtual currency" and damage the public interest and the legal tender status of RMB, the circular requires financial institutions and Payment institutions to correctly use the concept of currency in their daily work, pay attention to strengthening the ecation of the public's knowledge of currency, and correctly understand the concept of currency The concept of correctly treating virtual commodity and virtual currency, rational investment, reasonable control of investment risk, and maintenance of their own property security should be included in the content of financial knowledge popularization activities, so as to guide the public to establish a correct concept of currency and investment

source of reference: People's website bitcoin network virtual currency