Bitcoin Officially Recognized as Legal Payment Method at Chinese Merchants

The Chinese court has confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) is protected by Chinese laws. The Court declared in its verdict that owning and transferring Bitcoin (BTC) is legal and it’s not a crime by the country’s laws because of Bitcoin’s property nature and value to the Chinese economy.

One of Messari’s top cryptocurrency researchers – Katherine Wu managed to interpret and analyze the court statements from the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration.

Wu explained that Bitcoin’s decentralized architecture and economic value lead to Shenzhen’s Court of International Arbitration's decision to mark Bitcoin (BTC) as a Property (SOV). Furthermore, users can control the currency and gain economic value, without breaking any laws.

The Court only focused on transfers and owning Bitcoin, not on Bitcoin (BTC) as a cryptocurrency. According to the court’s documentation, whether or not Bitcoin (BTC) is legal, trading and transferring coins are legal, because of Bitcoin’s property characteristics.

The news about The Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration giving the “thumbs up” for Bitcoin as a payment method come after China’s oldest and most influential technology magazine - Beijing Sci-Tech Report (BSTR), announced that it would start accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for their yearly subscriptions.

BTSR’s yearly subscriptions would cost 0.01 BTC, which is around $65. If Bitcoin’s price rises, the publication will compensate for the difference.

Some hotels in China’s largest cities are also starting to accept Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as legal payments. One hotel even rebranded itself to Ethereum Hotel, giving discounts and privileges to those who pay with Ethereum (ETH).

China’s government did yet another step toward becoming more crypto-friendly, after the blanket ban on cryptos to stop the devaluation of the Yuan. China’s positive stance toward blockchain-related technology, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and cryptos will continue, giving startups the chance to build refined products and services in the future.