A court in Qingdao, China, has sentenced a man to 10 years and nine months in prison for stealing 107 Bitcoin, after prosecutors successfully argued that the cryptocurrency qualifies as legally protected property under the country’s criminal law. The ruling, published by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) on June 7, 2026, creates a striking contradiction with Beijing’s longstanding blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining.
The case began in 2023 when the victim sought help from the defendant, identified only as Zhang, to cash out 117 Bitcoin. Zhang memorized most of the victim’s 12-word recovery phrase, eventually guessed the final word, and gained full access to the wallet. He transferred 107 BTC and sold it for approximately 660,000 yuan ($91,000). Prosecutors charged him with theft, maintaining that Bitcoin satisfies the statutory definition of property because it has economic value and can be exclusively controlled by its owner — two key criteria under Chinese law. The court agreed, handing down the prison term and a fine of 100,000 yuan (about $13,800).
The SPP’s decision to feature the case on its official website is significant. Cases published there serve as guidance for prosecutors and lower courts nationwide. By highlighting this ruling, China’s highest prosecutorial authority is effectively instructing courts to treat Bitcoin theft as property crime, even though the 2021 ban—and its May 2026 expansion to cover stablecoins and cross-border digital assets—continues to prohibit virtually all crypto transactions. This creates a dual legal reality: the state tells citizens they cannot buy, sell, or trade Bitcoin, but if it is stolen, the full force of criminal law will protect their property rights.
The Qingdao ruling follows similar logic from a 2024 Shanghai court decision that recognized Bitcoin as a “unique and non-replicable” asset with financial attributes, and a civil ruling confirming legal ownership. The latest criminal case cements a growing judicial consensus that digital assets are property, even under a regime that bans their circulation. For Bitcoin holders in China, the verdict offers a measure of legal recourse against theft, though the broader regulatory environment remains hostile.
