Accepting Payment in Bitcoin by Merchants is now Legal in China
Based on a recent court ruling which classified Bitcoin as a property, merchant operational within the Chinese borders can accept payments in bitcoins and still not break any of the country’s legal guidelines.
Arbitration Court Verdict
The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has officially classified bitcoin as a property. As a result of this classification by the Arbitration court, sending and making payment using bitcoin is now legal in the country. Therefore merchant’s who favors the collections of bitcoin as a mean of payment for goods or service can do so, knowing fully well, that they are operating within the confines of the law.
A local news source states that:
“Chinese court confirms Bitcoin is protected by law. Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration ruled a case involving cryptos. Inside the verdict: CN law does not forbid owning & transferring bitcoin, which should be protected by law because of its property nature and economic value.”
Katherine Wu Shed More Light
Katherine Wu, a cryptocurrency researcher at Messari, who translated the court documents released by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration has further shed more light on the facts that makes bitcoin a legal method of payment.
Wu stated that:
“due to the decentralized nature of Bitcoin that provides financial freedom and economic value to the owner, the asset can be recognized as a property”
Wu further stated that:
“The Party contends that Bitcoin has characteristics of a property (SOV), can be controlled by the owner, and has economic value to the owner. It does not break any laws. This arbitrator agrees,”
Based in this, it is quite clear that merchants who are open to receiving payment for goods and services can do so without having to worry about breaking any cryptocurrency laws already put in place by the Chinese government. This news has been regarded as a welcomed development by the entire Chinese crypto community.
