NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Proposed law in China would extend consumer protections to Bitcoin, viritual goods
A new law proposed in China would extend consumer protections usually associated with physical assets to virtual properties, including Bitcoin for the first time.
The draft law, a proposed new Civil Code General Provision, is said to have been created to keep up with a changing global economic landscape and would treat Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, online gaming tokens and general data-based information almost on par with physical and financial assets, thereby bringing them under the purview of Civil rights that are applicable to property in general, NewsBTC reported.
To date digital currencies have no legal status in China, and are often exploited by scammers, such is in the case of the MMM Bitcoin scam which is rampant in the country; if the proposed legal changes were adopted owners of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, and virtual properties would be eligible for legal protection from fraud and theft, including cases of Bitcoin theft being treated in a similar way to personal stolen data.
The proposed changes to the law would update a Chinese constitutional amendment in 2004 that introduced Civil laws governing individual rights to personal property, including lawful income, housing, savings, household items, books, reference materials, trees, and livestock.
Great news
China has been a mixed bag when it comes to Bitcoin; while Bitcoin remains popular in the country by volume of trade, authorities haven’t always been so welcoming towards it, having at various times attempted to crack down on, or control the currency, including withdrawing access to banking services with the Bank of China in 2014 which we headlined at the time as “is this the end of Bitcoin in China?,”and prior to that rumors that the Government would ban all third parties from dealing with Bitcoin exchanges, in effect crippling Bitcoin in the Middle Kingdom.
What a difference a few years makes and it’s great news that Chinese regulators have not only recognized the growing global importance of Bitcoin trade but are willing to extend consumer protection laws to the sector as well.
If you’re trading Bitcoin and looking for market signals, if this law passes there’s a good chance that demand for Bitcoin in China will rise, subsequently driving up the price.
Image credit: Pixabay/Public Domain
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
