Has Shanghai Court Legalized Bitcoin in China?

Bitcoin has become very popular in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The cryptocurrency has been a big hit in neighboring South Korea and Japan.

Cryptocurrency policy in China was different – from allowing citizens and residents of mainland China to own crypto, to banning the property class in 2021. It seems that a court decision in the municipality of Shanghai recently opened the door for Chinese citizens to own cryptocurrencies. Like Bitcoin.

Court Legalizes Crypto Ownership in China

Judge Sun Ji of Shanghai Songjiang People's Court issued some new legal rules on cryptocurrency this week. The South China Morning Post reported Thursday that the court passed a ruling clarifying the legality of cryptocurrency under China's federal law.

A Shanghai judge wrote that “it is not illegal for individuals to hold cryptocurrency” in China. Moreover, the decision divided the property class according to the property.

Sun clarified that China's strict regulations on disorderly behavior in cryptocurrency markets do not impose a blanket ban on ownership. In fact, these rules only make sense if crypto ownership is legal in the country.

“This is why laws and regulations have always been a major pressure on speculative activities in cryptocurrency trading,” Sun wrote.

How to classify cryptocurrencies has been a problem for government financial regulators around the world since Bitcoin's 2009 debut. Crypto tokens are classified as property in the US by the Internal Revenue Service, which collects federal income tax.

Chinese rush to Bitcoin in 2024

The ruling could signal the start of a more tolerant cryptocurrency policy in China. Despite what many in the country consider a cryptocurrency ban, miners hold more than 50% of the Bitcoin network's hash power.

Meanwhile, Chinese bitcoin investors with little technical knowledge have been working around the law. Despite its dubious legal status, few Chinese internet users have fled the five-year winter for cryptocurrency.

The average price of bitcoin on crypto exchanges strengthened above $98,300 at 6:00 am on Saturday morning in Beijing, China.

With the price increasing by the day and week and the volume increasing, the world's first cryptocurrency has a real market pressure cooker going here. Many analysts expect a rise to a new $100,000 ATH any day now.

“The $100,000 threshold, which once seemed bold, now looks conservative,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial advisory firm Dever Group, in an article published in The Independent on Friday. I believe Bitcoin could reach $120,000 in the first quarter of 2025 as the rally continues to increase further.

Polymarket, Ethereum's largest betting market, gave BTCUSD a 93% chance on Thursday. By 2024, $100,000 in wagers gives him a chance to reach $6.8 million.